


The Amazing Spirit Tree Chat Room!

by MewMewPsychic



Category: Ori and the Blind Forest, Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Genre: Comedy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-05-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 73,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23695693
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MewMewPsychic/pseuds/MewMewPsychic
Summary: So! You're a big tree and you have god-like light-based powers but can't move. What do you do now? Go mad from the isolation as years pass by and the inability to scratch your nose eventually overcome your sanity?Of course not! You proceed to abuse your OP plz nerf god-like light powers to connect to the other OP plz nerf god-like light powers of other trees all over the world and you use your Light for fun and profit!Hey, gotta do something to kill time in your centuries-long existence as a giant lighthouse slash oxygen factory.
Comments: 88
Kudos: 91





	1. Welcome to the network, young tree!

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that this story might contain liberal amounts of swearing, some on the very kid-unfriendly side.
> 
> Spoiler warnings will be included in chapter notes when relevant.

Eclair contemplated his current situation, reflecting on the events of the last few years that led him to this.

As a young priest of the tribe of the sky, he had lived his life according to the teachings of Zion and, when the previous Spirit Tree died, answered the Calling. Found suitable as a candidate for ascension, he went on a great pilgrimage through the world and returned home, having sparked a set of wisps under the instructions of the great sages of many of the neighboring tribes. Then, after connecting to the land and making its light his own, he ended his life as per the ancient rites.

It had been difficult to remain calm, serene, and dignified. He had learnt the hard way that day that it can take many minutes, and even hours, for a spirit to bleed out after disemboweling themselves. He admit his composure might have broken a few times during his agony.

Still, his life as a spirit had ended and he was rewarded with ascension, sprouting as the tribe's new Spirit Tree.

He had been thankful for the attention and worship as he grew, really. But as days turned to months, then months to years, he found himself with an issue he had never expected to be forced to deal with: boredom. Pushing back Decay wasn't exactly the grueling battle he had expected and most of the land was actually not in need of his powers for the most part. His own tribe lived as they always did and soon enough, he found that his existence had become amazingly dull. Most importantly, he found that his new sprout had lacked something he had always taken for granted: a mouth. Without the ability to speak or even move, he admit he had retreated into his own memories for the last few years.

Then, after spending a quite interesting conversation with a rainbow colored owl that stood upside down atop a flying mountain, he realized that he was starting to go quite mad. A solution was needed to his issue and thus, he reached out with his Light.

And that lead us to his current predicament. A strange aurora in the skies, of many Lights. He had never really paid attention to it before ; rainbows and auroras are not exactly an uncommon sight. Still, now that he was a Spirit Tree and had the ability to sense Light's nuances in a way he never had as a mere mortal, he found himself noticing that there was something odd about the auroras. For starters, they weren't mere light but actual Light, as in generated by either spirits or fellow Spirit Trees. The second point was that they seemed to be containing information.

The Light of spirits is, after all, capable of containing memories, thoughts, emotions, and all other sorts of information. It is, after all, part of the body of a spirit and the extension of a Spirit Tree's will. So what is that Light containing? Why is it made of so many colored Lights?

He reached out and joined his Light to it.

...

Huh? It is... a request. The Light is a message, from other lands. Asking for his name. That is odd? Well, guess he shall test things out and see if it goes well...

\---

>> Eclair has joined the chat room.

Eclair: Hello, hello? Did whoever sent this strange Light received my reply?

Sein: Ah! The new boy has finally grown enough to answer back! Welcome to the big boy club!

Gesseritch: Or as we call it, the houseplant club!

Kiinae: Nobody call it that but you, Gesseritch.

Sefirot: I see that my colleagues are as professional as ever. Do not pay attention to such small-minded fools.

Sein: Nobody asked for your opinion, murder-tree.

Eclair: This is so surreal. Did somebody pour drug-laced water upon me? Or did my mind finally snap?

Gesseritch: I assure you that you are quite sane, young one! Will you do the honors, Sein?

Sein: Fine, I'll do it. Anyway! Welcome to the global Spirit Tree Light sharing network, blablabla legal disclaimer, boring stuff. What you need to know is that part of your power package as a Spirit Tree is the ability to broadcast your Light across lands and everywhere in the world. Not in large quantities, you're not gonna be able to mess with anybody else's land, but enough to send messages. That can include asking for advice, alerting others about Cult of Decay movements, requesting aid or resources in times of need, or sharing interesting tidbits of info.

Gesseritch: Such as Sein's measurements! Would you like to know them?

Sein: I hope you get hit by lightning and catch fire, Gesseritch.

Eclair: I... I don't know how to react. Am I... really talking with other Spirit Trees?

Sefirot: I understand your confusion, young one. Unfortunately, most Spirit Trees in the world are quite mad. An unfortunate result of a tainted nature and improper upbringing. I believe you should prove quite different, won't you?

Eclair: It's just... I can feel the Light. I feel that it's not my own. I can taste its different color. I just expected fellow Spirit Trees to sound more... divine?

Sein: If we were forced to be formal all the time, I think we actually would go mad. Beside, composing speeches well enough to actually come off as pretentious divine beings is harder than it sounds.

Kiinae: We ARE divine beings, Sein! :D

Sein: I know! Which is why we actually get to make pretentious divine speeches and be taken seriously anyway! It's hilarious!

Eclair: I am not sure I want to understand.

Gesseritch: What you need to know is that you're not alone. Isolation mixed with an inability to easily speak is a bad combination for sanity. Believe me, we've all been there before. You aren't alone anymore.

Eclair: That's... thank you. I just...

Sein: Surprised? Yeah, the old fart actually can sound surprisingly deep at times. Then he go right back to being face-punchingly stupid. He's weird like that.

Eclair: So hmmm... I admit I'm not too familiar with you. I apologize but unfortunately, during my pilgrimage, I was more concerned with growing strong enough to ascend than with the knowledge of local divine mysteries...

Sein: And that is perfectly alright. Everyone currently connected, let's do introductions! I'll start. Sein, Spirit Tree of Nibel. Known as the Great Oak by local prayer mumblers. You may have heard of my pilgrimage a few centuries ago and how I foiled the schemes of some mad scientist nut called Dr.Kon as well as foiling Shriek's latest world domination scheme back then.

Eclair: I... never heard of such things.

Sein: Killjoy.

Gesseritch: The Heroic Legend, the Living Wind of Justice, the Light of Rihan, and 115 consecutive yearly champion of every competiton known to spiritkind! I! Am! GESSERITCH!

Eclair: I... hummm... wow.

Gesseritch: I am the most amazing, good-looking, powerful, and coolest person you shall ever know! It's alright it's alright, no autographs.

Sein: As I said, he is an idiot.

Gesseritch: Everyone know you find me irresistible, Sein.

Sein: I hope an earthquake make you topple straight down your dumb mountain.

Eclair: Is there... some kind of history between those two?

Kiinae: Not now, new guy. Anyway, Kiinae here. Great Pine and Spirit Tree of Polaris. Glad to meet you.

>> Fellis has joined the chat room.

Fellis: Whoa! Sorry for being late. Had to take care of a bunch of mokis climbing my branches and- wait! Is that a new name in the chat? OvO

Sein: Sure is! By the way, hi there Fellis!

Eclair: Hummm... hi there? I'm... Eclair? I ascended just recently and I'm still a sprout. I'm the tribe of the sky's Spirit Tree. Glad to meet all of you?

Fellis: Oh by Zion he is so adorable! If I still had hands, I'd pinch that dork's cheek!

Sefirot: Please keep your disgusting fantasies to yourself, disgusting wench.

Eclair: So... hmmm... introductions?

Fellis: Nice! I did not miss them this time!

Sein: Barely.

Fellis: I'm Fellis, the Beautiful Maple of Duniwel! If you ever need advice regarding how to guide your children's love life or generally give the bird and the bee speech, I'm your tree!

Eclair: Do... I want to know?

Sefirot: No, you do not.

Fellis: Maybe if you weren't the single biggest asshole in the world second only to Shriek, you would have succeeded in getting laid before becoming a tree, murder-tree.

Sefirot: It is unbecoming of you to project, Fellis of Duniwel.

Fellis: Dude, I wouldn't accept pollen from you if you were the last tree in the world.

Eclair: Peace? Why is everyone arguing so much? Aren't all Spirit Trees and tribes united in harmony, forming a common front against Decay and its children?

Gesseritch: So! Who volunteers to introduce the new guy to the concept of politics?

Sein: Zion, no! Let's finish the introductions first. It's your turn, murder-tree.

Sefirot: I am Sefirot, the Supreme World Tree. My divine Light shine over the glorious land of Hilldin, the glorious nation of the tribe of holy light.

Sein: AKA Sefirot, the Butcher and Spirit Tree Cutter, murderer of millions, tyrant-warlord of the Hilldin dictatorship, and the one whose ambitions triggered the Great War. There's a spot with your name in Shriek's statue collection once you wither, you murderous bastard.

Sefirot: The war was many generations before your time. My long reign has made me realize the errors of my ways. Hilldin is, more than ever, a nation of peace.

Eclair: Introductions?

Sein: Oh, right. Well, there's a lot of Spirit Trees through the world and most of them actually don't talk nearly as much as us. Largely, they're just busy, most of the time. They do join in, once in a while, though.

>> Seir has joined the chat room.

Sein: Oh Zion no.

Kiinae: Oh Zion no.

Gesseritch: Oh Zion no.

Fellis: Oh Zion no.

Sefirot: Oh Zion no.

Eclair: I find it a bit ominous that you all said that same message simultaneously. So... hmmm... salutations? Nice to meet you, Seir. I'm the newly sprouted Spirit Tree of the tribe of the sky.

Seir: **AND SO THE TRIBE OF THE SKY IS ONCE AGAIN BLESSED BY THE LIGHT OF ZION ONCE MORE. EXCELLENT.**

Eclair: I don't have ears anymore. They are ringing anyway. I feel like two dozens sets of Light slammed into my mind all at once. Is that normal?

Sein: Yes.

Kiinae: Yes.

Gesseritch: Yes.

Fellis: Yes.

Sefirot: Yes.

Eclair: Why do she... he... they sound like that anyway? Who are they? Oh. I can just ask them, can I? Seir, everyone is doing introductions. How about introducing yourself.

Seir: **A POINTLESS WASTE OF TIME. DECAY CARE NOT FOR THIS IDLE CHAT. ZION'S THRONE MUST REMAIN OCCUPIED. WHERE ARE THE CALLED I REQUESTED?**

Gesseritch: I'll do the honors. Meet Seir, Spirit Tree of Niwen, heir to Zion, the Immortal, and undefeated champion of the most hated Spirit Tree in the world beating out even murder-tree over there.

Seir: **YOUR OPINION IS IRRELEVANT. AS IS THIS EXCHANGE. MY CALLED. NOW.**

Sein: Oh right. Your Called. I'll get right to it.

Seir: **YOU HAVE GIVEN ME THIS EXCUSE FOR FIVE YEARS NOW, SEIN OF NIBEL. ARE YOU DEFYING ME?**

Fellis: Last I know, nobody gave you Zion's divine title. You're just taking root on his spot.

Seir: **DESPITE YOUR USELESS EXCUSES, DECAY MUST BE DRIVEN BACK, SOMETHING ONLY I CAN DO. YOU ARE ONLY MAKING THIS HARDER ON YOURSELVES ON THE LONG TERM. I HAVE REQUESTED CALLED. BY THE SACRED DUTY ENTRUSTED BY ZION, YOU WILL COMPLY.**

Gesseritch: Look, we ain't got a Called ready, you impatient bitch! How about you settle down and sit tight?

Seir: **YET YOU AFFORD TO HAVE IDLE TALK. YOUR LACK OF VIRTUE AND FAITH SHOW, GESSERITCH.**

Gesseritch: Kids take time to grow! also, screw you too, Seir.

Seir: **MORE EXCUSES. FURTHER CONVERSATION AT THIS TIME IS PURPOSELESS. THIS EXCHANGE IS OVER.**

>> Seir has left the chat room.

Eclair: That was... hmmmm... something?

Kiinae: Don't take that way. I know our group can appear a bit strange but you'll fit right in. If you need any help, we'll do whatever we can as fast as possible.

Sein: And most importantly, you will never be alone.

Eclair: Thank you. Now I have to... digest all of this.

Sein: Take all the time you need.

>> Eclair has left the chat room.

\---

As Eclair retracted his Light from the strange aurora of foreign Lights, he couldn't help but feel his being shiver, even though he knew that as a Spirit Tree he was no longer capable of such movement. To know that all of the Spirit Trees could connect to one another and speak like this, to know of the sheer variety of them all over the world! It truly is amazing...

He also felt discomfort from the entire exchange. It sounded like most Spirit Trees tended to be quite... unhinged.

He suppressed the tiny voice in his mind that reminded him of the fact that he had accepted to contemplate actually doing this after talking with an imaginary rainbow giant owl hanging upside-down from a flying mountain, making him as equally mad as all of them.


	2. Origins and stuff!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How are Spirit Trees planted?
> 
> The answer to the question you never needed the answer to!

A few days had passed since Eclair had connected his Light to the aurora of Lights in the sky. It had been difficult but he had finally managed to calm down and to come to terms with how utterly... zany... the foreigners had sounded. He also had come to the conclusion that he wasn't insane.

With the initial shock passed, he reached out to the great network of Light once more...

\---

>> Eclair has joined the chat room.

Eclair: Hello? Anyone out there?

Fellis: Hi there, cutie! Nice to see you're back! I was getting worried you got traumatized by your first time and wouldn't want to touch my Light ever again.

Sefirot: Do you seriously need to turn everything you say into a sexual innuendo. Not everyone is obsessed with the exchange of fluids like you and your freaky halfbreed offspring.

Fellis: I shall ignore that.

Eclair: I... hummm... okay?

Sein: So! Eclair, isn't it? You're lucky! We got another new guy or in this case, a new girl today! The land of Villim finally got a Spirit Tree! She just connected for the first time today! Say hi, Mellyn!

Mellyn: H-hello?

Eclair: Oh! So someone has ascended, completing the pilgrimage as each of us did. Well, I guess I can only welcome this female for completing the steps and embracing the light, as per Zion's legacy.

Mellyn: Zion? Who's Zion?

Eclair: ... how can you not know Zion and be a Spirit Tree?

Sein: Don't get offended, Eclair. Every tribe, every land has its own culture and beliefs. Not every spirit in the world believe as we do. Many lack vital fragments of Light containing history information. Then there is the fact that there's been cases of spirits completing a pilgrimage without being aware of the ritual. Mellyn over there is one such case. Never expected to turn into a tree, didn't you?

Mellyn: I just wanted to save my land. I didn't think I'd explode!

Eclair: What? Explode?

Kiinae: The spirit body can only contain so much Light at once. You know this. Without the sacred technique of wisp sparking, crafted by Zion millenia ago, a spirit that tries to accumulate and generate the Light necessary for ascension will find themselves exploding into chunky salsa. Likewise, after combining all of your wisps into a divine Light and embracing it, you will explode soon after.

Eclair: ... do... you mean that I disemboweled myself for nothing? That I gutted myself and then bled out in absolute agony for nothing? That I could have just embraced the Light and then peacefully waited for my ascension to complete itself automatically?

Gesseritch: Yeeep! Nice going, kid!

Sein: He's being an idiot. No, Eclair, you didn't kill yourself for nothing. Yes, a spirit will eventually explode after embracing the Light. But not everybody's tolerance, or willpower to retain spirit form, is the same. Some will almost immediately pop like a grape. Some can actually keep going for days, weeks, even months with the Light inside them, especially if it gradually build up like in Mellyn's case over there. Which is partly why she took root at such an inconvenient spot.

Eclair: Inconvenient?

Mellyn: My bed is covered in my entrails! And I'm barely getting enough sunlight because I'm stuck in my house!

Eclair: ... oh.

Sein: That is the other reason for the ritualistic suicide thing. Prevent awkward situations like these.

Fellis: So! We were explaining to the cutie over there about the legends of our world and history things. Lots of fun! Nobody got the full story, it's been too long and Decay shenanigans have made our records a bit spotty but still, Sein is a lot of help here!

Eeclair: How so?

Sein: In life, I was the high priestess of Nibel. I was in charge of performing the Light Ceremony since our last Spirit Tree, Neriah, was currently busy being withered. For all of my sassy attitude, I assure you that I am as faithful and knowledgeable in the divine mysteries as it come.

Eclair: A fellow priest? I had... I...

Sein: It's okay. I know I don't exactly talk like one. But I am totally one! Well, I used to be one. Given I'm a Spirit Tree, I guess I could see I'm simultaneously a priestess and a god.

Sefirot: To consider yourself your own priest, oh so very arrogant.

Sein: I was talking about being a priestess of Zion, murder-tree.

Mellyn: Zion. You didn't finish your explanation about Zion!

Sein: Oh, right. Zion was the first of us. The most powerful spirit ever to live, whose radiance was so pure and immaculate He sparked no less than eleven wisps in His life. The messiah and savior of spiritkind in life, our ruler and god in death. He created the chain of Light that bind the world and sealed Decay deep within the ground, where it remain sealed to this day.

Eclair: Wait, didn't Zion create the world? As the first Spirit Tree, I think He's the progenitor of our species.

Sein: No, that was some of the old history becoming blurred. Zion was a mortal and part of the tribe of Light, from which Nibel's own tribe is descended. Well, from which most of our tribes are descended. He metaphorically created the world we live in, He didn't create it directly.

Eclair: Isn't that heresy? Sein... you ARE a priestess, right?

Sein: You do realize I could call YOU a heretic and a fanatic moron? I worship the guy. I dedicated most of my life to redeeming my land and becoming the Light, in His name. I kinda know what I'm saying here.

Eclair: But you imply He was just some spirit. That our kind existed before Him. And how would our species exist before Him anyway? How did we keep our population up?

Fellis: Same way we still do in Duniwel, cutie. Combined Light method! Please tell me I won't have to give you the birds and the bees talk.

Sefirot: Fellis, not wanting to horrify everyone with her knowledge of fluid exchanges? That is a shock!

Fellis: I pray a beaver decide to use you to build a dam, Sefirot.

Eclair: Zion, born of Combined Light? That's blasphemous. In order for a spirit to ascend into Spirit Tree form, their Light must shine pure and true. A spirit born of fluid exchange and two lesser Lights combining cannot possibly be pure enough. Only an Immaculate born, birthed from the divine Light of a Spirit Tree, has the ability to someday answer the Calling.

Gesseritch: Oh Zion, here we go.

Fellis: That's superstition. If you can spark wisps and survive containing the Light, you can someday attain that level of purity. Having a pure Light at birth merely give you a headstart.

Eclair: Why would a Spirit Tree say such a thing?!

Sein: What are you saying, new guy? That Zion was a fake? That because He wasn't born from a Spirit Tree, being the bloody first Spirit Tree in the first place, He couldn't have possibly been pure and radiant enough? You're going to argue that the very spirit whose Light delivered us from Decay and shone with such perfection that we still feel the echoes of His Light in every single ray of every Spirit Tree to this day, millenia after He has withered, was somehow tainted?

Eclair: No! No! I'm not saying that! He can't have been born of an exchange of fluids! He was born from nothing, sparking Himself into existence, and creating our world!

Kiinae: Oh goodie. We have a zealot.

Mellyn: I'm a bit lost. Was Zion some ancient spirit or the creator of the world?

Eeclair: He was the Almighty! The supreme deity! Creator and ruler of the world!

Sein: No, He was a spirit in life. He truly was the Almighty though. And first Spirit Tree. And divine.

Fellis: Okay, this is going nowhere. All you need to know is that Zion was powerful even by Spirit Tree standards and He's the first one to ever reach that state. That's all.

Mellyn: I'm confused...

Sefirot: That is understandable. None of those inferior tribes have retained a comprehensive record of the past. And those that did were incompetent enough to let Decay trample over them. Confusion and dismay are the logical responses to such nonsense.

Kiinae: Can we talk about something else? Everybody always start to argue whenever Zion is brought up.

Sein: Fine. Well then, since we have two newcomers, how about we talk about our ascensions? Would be a nice change of pace.

Gesseritch: This will be glorious! I will regale you with the tales of my glorious adventures and incredible feats!

Kiinae: Let's keep it to just the ascensions, okay?

Gesseritch: You are soooo devoid of curiosity!

Eclair: Hmmm... I guess I'll start then? I did it as the rituals demand. I was one of the last sons and daughters of my land's previous Spirit Tree. Shortly after my birth, they finished withering, leaving our land without Light. I was taken in by the order at a young age and raised according to the rituals before being brought to the spirit shrine, where I was tested and my Light revealed. Confirmed to shine bright, clean, and true, I was inducted into the ritual of the Called. Each of us was brought to each of the locations where the Light shine brightest, and we all attempted to spark a wisp. I was successful in the pilgrimage, at every spot, and was found worthy. Then, I ended my own life as is customary, joining with the land and becoming the new Spirit Tree. I'm still a sprout, so I don't have a title yet.

Gesseritch: You got a bloody freaking guided tour from one Light location to the next? Wow. Your tribe spoil their Called! No wonder your land get so many duds!

Kiinae: Gesseritch!

Eclair: No, it's okay. Not many of the Called successfully sprout, even after embracing the Light. Many merely become Ancestral Trees. I guess that our method doesn't allow our Called to become strong enough consistently enough...

Gesseritch: So you died young. Poor kid...

Eclair: It is the purpose of the Called to die so that the land may know Light. I accepted that. Didn't you all?

Kiinae: I didn't become the Spirit Tree by doing some guided tour. Our nation, Polaris, is fairly recent. It is a hostile land, of ice and snow and terrible, harsh winds. But it is also a land of freedom and joy. I was among the original settlers. And well, we faced a great hardship. A Decay Abomination, right out of the tales of the dark days of the First Age of Decay, the Great Serpent, made Polaris its home. I gathered Light from through the entire land and grew strong. And then, in the name of Zion and for the future of my tribe, I fought and smited the beast. I never really wanted to become the Spirit Tree, never expected to be granted this honor. I gathered the Light purely to protect my tribe, my loved ones, to give them a future. But when I finally reached the end of my life and I accepted to pass on and join with my ancestors, Zion rewarded me. Instead of passing on into the Forest beyond Death, leaving behind my Light and an Ancestral Tree, I was blessed with rebirth as the Great Pine. Now, I watch over Polaris as its Spirit Tree.

Mellyn: Wait, isn't Polaris over two millenia old as a nation? How can you still be here?

Sein: The typical Spirit Tree lifespan is five centuries, more or less. But like all trees, it can vary based on what you become. Kiinae is a pine tree. Those have an incredible lifespan.

Kiinae: Oldest Spirit Tree alive and still good-looking!

Mellyn: Isn't Seir even older?

Sein: Nobody talk about Seir.

Mellyn: Weird. Anyway, I guess my story is pretty similar. I didn't fight some giant Decay monster though. My land had been Blind for more than ten generations. The forest had been dying for so long and entire generations had been born knowing only starvation and fear of predation by Decay monsters. I heard the stories of the Light and wanted to bring happiness to my tribe. I didn't know that after I ignited the Light in all the land and then went back home, that I would explode and become a living tree! In fact... I... I had things to do. People to see. I... I...

Sein: You weren't ready.

Mellyn: ... I wasn't.

Sein: To die before your time. Sad...

Eclair: Why is she sad?! She has ascended! It is the greatest honor possible for any spirit!

Mellyn: I had a lover! We were going to go on a date, the next day! I... I couldn't even talk to him. I didn't understand what had happened! I tried to call to him, to tell him I was right there! I couldn't move! I'm not even sure, even with that Light sharing thing you taught me, if I can even talk to him! And what then? How can we live together if I'M STUCK AS A TREE?!

Eclair: I can't believe this. You complete ungrateful heretic. Speaking of this immense honor as though it were a curse...

Gesseritch: Ascension is a two-way street, kid. It isn't because you were ready that everyone that reach the end of the path was ready for what comes next.

Eclair: You aren't stuck! You have reached your true potential! You have grown up into a Spirit Tree! You are blessed! And yet you are sad because you can't spread your legs for some common spirit male?!

Sein: Eclair, you will stop right now. I can feel her tears in her Light. We were doing well, getting her to adjust, until you decided to go all zealot mode. Nice going, jerk face.

Fellis: I guess I'll tell you all my story, then. Should be a nice change of pace. Nobody really expected me to be the Spirit Tree, you know. I became one of the Called as a joke, actually. You see, I have significant moki blood in my veins, even more than most Duniwel spirits. Some said I looked like a white moki with antennas. I never really thought I was actually getting closer when I sparked my wisps and linked to the land. Sure, I did spark them but they were small, puny little things. I thought such small Light would never be good enough. But I kept going because hey, a wisp means power and sparking them meant meeting new people and having lots of fun! So I eventually gathered enough to combine into a divine Light of my own. It was small, it was puny, it was glowing in a dull light, but it was mine and I loved it all the same.

Mellyn: Then you exploded in your sleep?

Fellis: No! That's the crazy thing! I held the thing in my body for months! Didn't even feel any consistent pain from it, either! I was convinced the thing was a dud and so was everyone else! Then one day, while trying to show off my acrobatics, I slipped by the edge of some of the swamp's pools of water and fell in. Hit my head on a rock at the bottom and lost consciousness. Then I felt incredible pain and I realized I drowned. There was complete darkness for a good while. Then I got bored and realized that somehow, I could still think. Then I sprouted and realized I was a Spirit Tree.

Eclair: Seriously. You were unaware that you had ascended.

Fellis: My Light wasn't exactly the shiniest one in the world! I thought it was a dud! The entire thing was meant to be a joke! Some funny, crazy thing I did just so I could tell my friends about it!

Sefirot: No wonder your faith and dedication is so weak.

Fellis: It may have started as a joke but I'll have you know I am just as serious and dedicated about being a Spirit Tree as anybody else. This is my Light shining in my land and that new generation of Immaculates that came are my children. I will protect them with everything I have.

Eclair: Whatever. I bet you hit your head or somehow died in your sleep in some inane manner too, Sein? At this point, I wonder if any of you had a dignified ascension at all.

Sein: ... I was born tainted. Nibel experienced an extremely long Blindness after Neriah's death. Not unlike you, Eclair, I wanted my land to have Light again. I became a priestess and for five years, carried the Light of the late Neriah to prepare myself for the great pilgrimage. To prove myself worthy as a sacrifice. Those dreams were crushed when I learnt I was tainted. I... considered ending myself that day. Thrown myself off a cliff into the sea. Wanted to die. Caught myself at the last second. I realized that being claimed by Decay, I would die in ash and stone if I died now, that I would be denied holy rest entombed in wood, my Light forever extinguished and lost to future generations. So... I traveled the world, and I did everything I could to earn redemption for my sinful nature. I fought the Decay at every turn, I brought relief and joy to everyone in need, I took in the Light of every land and felt Zion's legacy in every part of the world. I made my existence a great penance, seeking to redeem myself and free my Light of Decay's grip. And in spite of my corrupted Light, I managed to spark three pure wisps. From that Light, I was able to spark a divine Light.

Eclair: That wouldn't work. Decay interfere with Light and our bodies. If a Spirit Tree's sprout is born from a diseased Light, it will die.

Sein: Indeed. I knew this. I knew that even with a completed pilgrimage, I was not redeemed. But still, I returned home and I discovered Decay's grip in my land. I discovered the Cult of Decay's corruption and its great scheme to turn my home into a staging ground for a new great war. I fought with everything I had, even giving up my life for the cause. I never expected to be redeemed. I expected that in the end, I would either be a statue or a skeleton in the ground. But as I unleashed my final effort, I drove back the Decay. In death, I purged every last part of Decay in Nibel... including the Decay in my own Light, as I destroyed myself. I finally found redemption, that day. Zion has finally forgiven me for my unworthy birth. I am now... pure. A Spirit Tree, blessed by Light. My penance is over. I have completed my journey.

Mellyn: Is this... all true?

Gesseritch: Sein's story is quite inspiring. And yes, I was still alive by the time of her tale. She visited my land and our paths crossed. And yes, the tainted Light part was true, too. Nowadays, her Light is a clear blue color. Back then, it swirled with sickly golden hues.

Eclair: How could a tainted Light possibly ascend?!

Gesseritch: Zion is more forgiving than you give Him credit for, kid. Every spirit's Light exist thanks to Him. And we all share His gift. We just have to reach out and accept it within us.

Mellyn: What was she doing in your land anyway, mister Gesseritch?

Gesseritch: Well! You see, I am quite the ladies male and as a spirit, I was even more so!

Sein: Complete that speech and I will use my Light to hurl a rock over the horizon and hit you in the trunk, you pig.

Fellis: Aren't we supposed to do that only to Seir?

Eclair: Wait. We can actually do that kind of thing?... why would we do that to Seir?

Gesseritch: Anyway. It's now time for the amazing tales of Gesseritch, the Wind of Justice! My tale was one of great adventure and thrilling journeys! Like Sein I saw the world but I left a great mark upon every single nation! In every land, I defeated dastardly villains and left a large amount of descendants! My legend is a great and storied one! As I sparked my wisps and attained enlightenment, I also became a philosopher and dedicated myself to not merely sound cool and awesome, but wise and deep as well! I was the hottest spirit in the world since Zion Himself!

Mellyn: I can almost feel him trying to pose in stupid ways from the feel of his Light alone. Was he truly like this in life?

Sein: Yes.

Fellis: Yes.

Kiinae: Yes.

Sefirot: Yes.

Mellyn: Oh.

Sein: He got really freakin' old by the end though. Every time he tried to pose, he would faceplant or fall on his tail, then say a random variation of 'Ow, my back' or something. It was kind of pathetic.

Gesseritch: Ritualistic suicide and exploding are for chumps. I wanted to shine the brightest a spirit possibly could, as long as possible! To only, and only, become a Spirit Tree the day when Zion Himself would descend and make me one. And by His name, I succeeded! I was amazing to the very end!

Eclair: So... how did he ascend, exactly?

Sein: Slipped and broke his neck during his daily mountain climbing routine.

Eclair: Anticlimatic.

Sein: I know!

Gesseritch: It didn't go that way and you know that. I totally sprouted by the side of that mountain peak on purpose!

Eclair: What about Sefirot?

Sefirot: I was raised according to the rituals and sacrificed, as per the holy writings of Zion. A pure Called, holy in flesh and Light, following the sacred path of the pilgrim.

Sein: Bollocks.

Kiinae: Bollocks.

Gesseritch: Bollocks.

Fellis: Bollocks.

Mellyn: Bollocks.

Eclair: Wow! All of you said that at the same time, even the other newcomer! So what's his deal? How did he ascend?

Sein: Didn't get much education history-wise, didn't you? Sefirot was the favored son and general of Ganthian, Hilldin's previous Spirit Tree. Ganthian was an evil, bigoted, genocidal maniac with delusions of godhood even by the standards of Spirit Trees and decided, one fine day, that only his version of Zion's scriptures was correct and that it was time to conquer the world. Sefirot over there proceeded to lead a genocidal campaign that led to the first time since Zion united our species that spiritkind fought itself. Sefirot has the dubious honor of being the only non-Decay supervillain in the world.

Eclair: Wait. That... really happened?

Kiinae: Unfortunately, yes. The Great War. When Light turned against itself. When spirits fought spirits. When owls tore at their own kins. When ancient machines of war and engines of siege were unleashed by the gumon and the gorleks not against Decay but against the forest itself. Sefirot became the first and only spirit to cut down a Spirit Tree, to murder and extinguish the Light of a land and try to replace it with his own.

Sefirot: It was a very long time ago. Ganthian was cut down for his crimes and now, I have changed Hilldin into a peaceful land. I was just following orders.

Sein: Bullshit. Everyone knows that Ganthian was a puppet ruler and you were the one pulling the strings. Also, the only reason you weren't executed for your crimes was because after Ganthian was cut down and his remains spread into Niwen's Silent Woods to be petrified so that Decay may claim him for his crimes, you died of complications from the injuries you got after getting your tail kicked. After you sprouted, it was decided that since Hilldin needed a Spirit Tree and you had recently died, you'd do. Believe me, if I had been alive back then, given all you did? I would have introduced your sprout to a hungry goat.

Eclair: I... thought that Spirit Trees were meant to be... well...

Kiinae: History is not always pretty.

Mellyn: What about Seir?

Sein: ... nobody really knows for sure. Seir is unbelievably ancient. Far older than even Kiinae. Some think she may even be older than Shriek. And Shriek is essentially completely immortal thanks to being half-made of Decay. Still, some think she may have been born during a previous Age of Decay. Which would explain why records are so spotty.

Eclair: Oh. I see. So... that's it?

Sein: Anybody else got something to say about the current subject?

Kiinae: Well, I guess that's it indeed. Well, wasn't that fun?

Mellyn: You all have a very strange definition of fun...

Sein: It's all good. We're all friends here!

Mellyn: Even with Sefirot?

Sein: Well, we're almost all friends here!

Sefirot: You are all very immature. It was a long time ago. I have changed since then.

Gesseritch: Oh yeah? Do you still do that 'exaltation' thing to your children?

Fellis: Please, everyone! I think we all had enough arguing for the day! How about we all take a break?

Sein: I wouldn't be against that. I do need to check on the Element of Winds. The gumon have started one of their dumb experiments and I'm afraid if I don't do something, the whole of their artificial city will slam straight into Nibel.

Fellis: Yeah, I've been pestered by some of my kids for the last five minutes. If I keep giving them the silent treatment, they're going to start kicking me in the roots for a reaction.

Kiinae: I need to shed some of my needles. There's a bunch on my lower left branch that has been itching like crazy for the last fifteen minutes.

Gesseritch: I left something on my stove. It may burn if I don't check on it soon.

Sein: You're a tree. You can't leave things on the stove anymore.

Gesseritch: That's my point! It's been on the stove for centuries! I REALLY need to check on it!

Mellyn: Hmmm... well, I guess that's it then. Thanks for the talk. It... helped? I guess?

>> Mellyn has left the chat room.

Eclair: I need... to think about all of this.

>> Eclair has left the chat room.

\---

As Eclair retracted his Light and was once again left with his own thoughts, he adjusted his opinion of the foreign Spirit Trees. They don't merely sound unhinged, they are completely mad.


	3. TUTORIAL: How to be a tree!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How hard can being a tree really be? You shine Light and you produce oxygen! Surely that can't be difficult to mess up, right?
> 
> ... right?

Eclair reached out to the aurora of Light as fast as he could.

\---

>> Eclair entered the chat room.

Eclair: My tribe just told me a bunch of monsters shown up at the northern border and now there's a snowstorm blasting me in the branches! It's the middle of summer! Help plz.

Sein: A Cult of Decay attack. Don't panic. You sparked an Element of Warmth, correct?

Eclair: I DON'T KNOW. THERE'S SNOW EVERYWHERE. I'M FREEZING! LITERALLY!

Gesseritch: Stop panicking lad! Decay is just probing you for weaknesses. Just shine your Light a bit and it will go away.

Kiinae: Gesseritch, Eclair is new at this. He probably doesn't even know what aspects of his land he linked to.

Gesseritch: Well, nothing like the present to find out! Try wiggling your Light back and forth, kid! See if it cause one of the following: an earthquake, giant death tornadoes, massive tidal waves, or a giant fountain of lava.

Sein: You are an idiot and I hope a band of traveling old ladies turn you into toothpicks. Anyway, Eclair, listen carefully. What elements of the land did you connect with? This is important.

Eclair: I DON'T KNOW! IT'S SO FREAKIN' COLD! I MISS HAVING FUR SO MUCH. I THINK MY SAP IS FREEZING. I CAN'T FEEL MY LEAVES!

Fellis: I think he's going into shock, guys.

Sein: Sigh. Fine. Wait a sec, I'll shine some basic weather control information to the new guy.

>> Sein has left the chat room.

>> Sein has entered the chat room.

Gesseritch: That was quick.

Sein: I keep basic Light packages memorized, just in case! ^v^

Eclair: OKAY I GOT IT. NOW WHAT DO I DO?! I'M TURNING INTO A GLOWING ICICLE THERE!

Sein: Reach out with your Light and feel the land. Light don't gather arbitrarily through the world, you know. There's spots where Light gather in especially strong spots, forming nexuses.

Eclair: I KNOW HOW WISPS FORM. I'M A SPIRIT TREE FOR ZION'S SAKE!!

Sein: Are you even listening?! Wisps don't just spark at those spots for no reason! Those are where your connections to the land are established, where the Light can go to you and then where you can shine it in turn! Reach out to the spot with a connection that feels like the Light I just sent you.

Eclair: OKAY. I GOT IT. NOW WHAT DO I DO? OH ZION MY ROOTS FEEL LIKE THEY'RE TRYING TO DIG THROUGH RAZOR VINES!!

Sein: Stretch the Light, feel it, and then direct. Your kin told where Decay is attacking from, right? Push the Light. Now, you got to listen carefully. Do it firmly but not too hard. You don't want to overdo it.

Gesseritch: He's gonna overdo it.

Sein: I hope a flock of pigeons decide to perch themselves in your branches, Gesseritch.

Kiinae: ... Eclair? Are you alright?

Gesseritch: Relax. If he had died, we'd have lost the connection. He's fiiiine.

Sein: Gesseritch, shut up. Eclair, are you here?

Eclair: Oh thank Zion! The snow is gone! I can feel my leaves! That was a close call...

Gesseritch: 3... 2... 1...

Sein: Seriously, Gesseritch...

Eclair: I'M ON FIRE!! HEEEEEELP!!

Gesseritch: Called it.

Fellis: Not now, Gesseritch!

Gesseritch: That remind me of when Sein just recently ascended. Tried to put out a fire with the Element of Winds. Accidentally uprooted herself and flew all over Nibel like the world's strangest bird.

Sein: I hope a horde of dogs in need of relief take an interest in you, Gesseritch.

Fellis: Well at least you're no longer freezing?

Eclair: THIS IS NOT AN IMPROVEMENT!!

Sefirot: This is nonsense. Why not just get your children to put out the fire for you? They have functional arms and some manner of transporting water, don't they?

Eclair: I'M TOO YOUNG TO BE A PARENT! I'M STILL JUST A SPROUT! OH ZION, I'M TURNING INTO A COOKED VEGETABLE!!

Gesseritch: Look at the positive side of things, lad! I'm sure you will smell and taste absolutely delicious!

Kiinae: Don't you have some sort of water or ice-based power?

Eclair: I DON'T KNOW!! Wait. I have a wind power!

Sein: DON'T USE THAT.

Gesseritch: DON'T USE THAT.

Kiinae: DON'T USE THAT.

Fellis: DON'T USE THAT.

Sefirot: Yes, please do use that.

Eclair: AAAAAH! THE WIND INSTEAD SPREADED IT! EVERYTHING'S ON FIRE! INCLUDING ME! HEEEEEELP!

Gesseritch: That funny story I gave wasn't just a funny story! It was a warning! You never, ever use wind to try putting out fires! It strengthen and spread them!

Sein: You think he could tell the difference between you being a regular idiot and you being an idiot on purpose? Especially given you're an idiot all the time whether on purpose or not?

Sefirot: I can't believe that weed actually went ahead and tried to put out a fire with wind powers! As impure and unworthy as you lot may be, it is always amusing to see inferior beings squirm.

Sein: I hope you get an encounter of the axe maniac kind with a bunch of crazy lumberjacks, Sefirot.

Kiinae: How about we actually help him before he actually do die?

Sein: Fine. Preparing a second Light package.

>> Sein has left the chat room.

>> Sein has entered the chat room.

>> Mellyn has entered the chat room.

Sein: There you go. Now try to reach out and see if there's any rivers or lakes nearby.

Mellyn: Hello? I'm back. I think.

Eclair: THE FARTHEST RIVER IS FIFTY MILES FROM HERE!! THIS IS AGONY!!

Mellyn: Hummm... what's going on?

Fellis: Decay tried to freeze him over with a sudden snowstorm out of season. He accidentally set himself on fire countering that. Oh and likely set fire to much of his land too.

Mellyn: Oh dear! That sounds awful!

Fellis: Not really. We all do that at least once. Being a Spirit Tree don't come with an instruction manual you know.

Eclair: I DON'T WANNA DIE! I DON'T WANNA DIE! I DON'T WANNA BE A TREE!!

Sefirot: Buffoon. You are a tree. All of us are holy, divine trees.

Eclair: FIRE! FIIIIIRE! HEEEEEEEELP!!

Sein: Give him a break. We all think and scream "I don't wanna be a tree" when we're in danger. Given turning into a tree is something you do when you die, that's an understandable fear. It take a while to stop thinking and saying that expression once you've become a Spirit Tree.

Sefirot: I clearly remember you praying fervently to become a tree, Sein. I would say that hypocrisy does not suit you but that would be a lie. You were always tainted.

Sein: That's different. I was born damned, my Light tainted with Decay, my life destined to be claimed by Decay. Most spirits don't want to become trees because losing their lives is the worst that can happen to them. My very immortal Light was on the line. Living meant nothing if I turned to ashes or worse, petrified upon death.

Fellis: I am still sad at your martyr attitude, Sein. A kindhearted female such as you deserved a long life.

Sein: I lived plenty of time. Had many adventures. Knew love and grief. Gave life, and took life. I have no regrets. I am content with my destiny.

Eclair: ... guys? What... what happens when a Spirit Tree dies?

Gesseritch: Oh Zion. We are actually losing him! Sein, do you got another of those Light packages handy?

Sein: I already sent him everything he needed!

Fellis: I'm too far away to do anything for him! Anybody closer?

Sefirot: Few Spirit Trees live past their first fifty years. It is no shock.

Sein: Sefirot, I swear, by Zion! If you don't shut up, I will do something to you! I don't know what but you won't like it!

Eclair: ... I... think it's a bad thing if my leaves are turning black and wilting, right?

Gesseritch: Listen, Eclair. You gotta stay awake, no matter what. Just grab the nearby dirt and hurl it at yourself. Choke up the flames if only on yourself. You can do that, right?

>> Eclair has left the chat room.

Mellyn: ... he has left? Why would he leave suddenly like that?

Sefirot: Loss of connection.

Mellyn: Huh? Why would he lose the connection like that?

Sefirot: Simple. By dying. A dead Spirit Tree cannot broadcast or receive further Light signals.

Sein: Sefirot, SHUT. UP! Everyone, I'm going to try and focus my Light purely at the tribe of the sky's land. I'll be unavailable for a while.

>> Sein has left the chat room.

Sefirot: I wonder why you always bother with such things. None of the other Spirit Trees are this chatty. They know their place and role.

Mellyn: I don't think I like you very much.

Gesseritch: Murder-tree not feeling bad at death. What a surprise. You sure you're not a Decay living rock formation masquerading as a Spirit Tree?

Mellyn: This is... so terrible. I had not known that...

Kiinae: Ascension is no guarantee of survival. Just like Decay can claim your life anytime as a spirit, it will continue to try to claim you as a Spirit Tree. We must always be vigilant. Life is often cruel.

Sefirot: This wouldn't happen if other lands followed the glorious traditions and customs of Hilldin, raising and selecting all spirits according to the holy writ of Zion.

Gesseritch: Right. Holy writ of Zion. I'll trust the actual priestess who dedicated her life to following His word and absorbing the Light containing His legacy and will over some murder-tree who played telephone with some book for over eight millenia.

Sefirot: I shall forgive you for your lack of faith, lesser one. Not every tree can shine with the same divine radiance after all.

>> Sein has entered the chat room.

Kiinae: Felt anything from their land, Sein?

Mellyn: Eclair is alright, isn't he?

Sefirot: A tiny pile of ashes, from a tiny Light, linked to a tiny mind.

Sein: May Shriek perch on you, murder-tree.

Sefirot: Well! We shall see if the tribe of the sky request a Calling then. As usual, the glorious nation of Hilldin will be more than glad to share their own Called. I can grow one for them right now, if they request it. I think I'll send a messenger.

Fellis: The day you wither, I hope they uproot your stump and throw it into Niwen's Silent Woods so Decay may claim you and petrify you, as was done to your predecessor.

Sefirot: Such a curse is unbecoming, fluid-obsessed brat! I will take your infantile insults but I will not tolerate a genuine curse and offense!

Gesseritch: Seriously, lad. Nobody ever told you not to speak ill of the dead? Are you sure you don't have a big 'ol ball of stone where your heart-core Light should be?

>> Eclair has entered the chat room.

Eclair: My everything hurts...

Fellis: Oh thank Zion! Eclair, you're alive! We really thought you had burnt down to ashes when you lost connection!

Sein: You really gave us quite the scare. I'll give you that.

Eclair: It's my tribe. They noticed I was on fire. They brought buckets. They... saved my life.

Sein: Aaaaaw... that's sweet. Your tribe are your kin, your family. Even as their Spirit Tree, they will remain at your side. Just as you protect them, they will protect you. Never forget that.

Sefirot: Took them long enough. What were they doing? Were they on a coffee break or something? This is abject incompetence.

Eclair: No. Please do not blame them. If anything... if anything... I... I'm not sure I'm cut out for this.

Sein: What do you mean?

Eclair: All of you... you traveled, you fought, you earned your ascension. The ritual that led to my ascension was lesser, I understand that now. I am a god, now. I am supposed to be one with the land. To control it with my will. To protect my tribe and act as Zion's representative in this world. And yet... I have failed. I needed my tribe to save me. I could not overcome that snowstorm unleashed by Decay. I am... weak. My Light is... dull and unimpressive. I shame Zion with my existence. Maybe... I should have burnt down and allowed a worthier spirit to take this holy title.

Sefirot: If you wish, I can grow and send a Called to your land immediately. It will be pure, untainted, powerful, and faithful to the holy writ of Zion. They will embrace the Light, and you will be able to let go of your own. The tribe of the sky will be in good hands.

Gesseritch: Don't listen to him, Eclair! All he's interested is putting in one of his sock puppet kids in your land's ground so he may control your tribe by proxy!

Eclair: I... I don't know...

Sein: You are not infaillible. None of us are. We all exist within the shadow of ZIon's radiance and His immaculate Light, each of our respective divinities an attempt at maintaining the great chain of Light that He crafted. All of us are tasked with the impossible task of living up to His legacy. Though you may stumble, remember that Zion's mercy extend to all of our kind. He would have never allowed you the honor of ascension if you did not have that potential.

Sefirot: Many are those who spark a full set of wisps and then, as per the holy will of Zion, merge them into a divine Light, which they can finally embrace to complete ascension. Yet, many become failures. Eclair is not unique.

Sein: He is not a failure! I have gone to the sacred lands of Vilnum. I have seen the forest of dead aborted Spirit Trees, each one the tree of an unworthy spirit whose Spirit Tree was born without a Light, without a mind. Eclair shine true, living within his sprout, shining with the radiance of a true Spirit Tree. I have seen what true damned, unworthy failures look like, Sefirot. I have seen thousands of them. I was almost one of them. To the end, I thought I would become one.

Sefirot: You are still unworthy, Sein.

Mellyn: Vilnum? A forest of aborted Spirit Trees?

Sein: One of spiritkind's holiest sites. The land of judgement and redemption. Where the damned go in their penitance to beg forgiveness for their sins. Where those who have turned from the Light may earn salvation. To every one of those damned trees is nailed the skeleton of a spirit sinner, who in life committed great crimes against Zion and His legacy. In death, each has gifted those dead trees with the Light they could not spark and retain from embracing the Light, redeeming them for their failed ascension. In great suffering and agonizing death, each of those sinners achieved martyrdom and redeemed themselves. Though their skeletons lies forever decayed and unable to sink roots and sprout leaves, their sacrifice has earned those dead trees the chance to have a Light while earning those martyrs the chance to sleep entombed in wood in spite of their corrupted, unsuitable bodies.

Mellyn: Sounds... macabre.

Fellis: Our kind has a lot of questionable customs and traditions. Given how incomprehensible some of Zion's memories are within His Light, makes you wonder if He was kind of nuts.

Eclair: That's blasphemy...

Sein: What I'm saying is that I, and many others, have fallen farther than you. Just because you failed to put out a fire and needed help from your tribe don't make you unworthy. You are still a sprout. In time, you will be stronger. You still have much to learn about being a Spirit Tree.

Eclair: ... and you'll help me?

Sein: Yes, we are all here for you.

Gesseritch: Believe me, kid. Sein may sound weird but she's rapidly becoming the most popular tree around here for a reason. And not just because she's a great lay!

Sein: I hope a colony of cats choose you as their scratching post, Gesseritch. Also, I'm a tree. You're a tree. I no longer get laid.

Gesseritch: Pfft, you still do, hot stuff! Where do you think the pollen that gave you your next bunch of kids came from, huh? ;3

Sein: Changed my mind. I hope a colony of TIGERS decide to use you as their scratching post, Gesseritch.

Fellis: Oh my! Is it that time? Are we gonna talk about Sein's love life and general exploits? Oh my oh my oh my! You won't believe how much there is to tell! The moment my kids introduced Sein to the joys of Combining Light, she got BUSYYYYYY!

Sein: Traitor! I hope the ground under you give away and you sink in your own swamp!

Eclair: No! Stop! Stop! I don't want to hear about this! I almost burnt to death just a few minutes ago! I... I need a break. Yeah. I need a break. This is insane.

Kiinae: Just know that we are here for you.

>> Eclair has left the chat room.

\---

"This is complete madness. I am going crazy. I am certain of it, I am losing my mind!" Eclair thought to himself. "Also, my everything hurts. I never thought being a Spirit Tree would be this hard..."

At about this moment, a few of the embers from the dying fire rolled by, pushed by the wind, and brushed against Eclair's body. Then, a small flame licked his body, slowly climbing back toward his leaves. "Oh noooo... not again!"


	4. Da ginormous historical and cultural exchange forum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for some history and cultural exchanges!
> 
> What, you didn't really think every tribe of spirit across the world was identical to Nibel's tribe? Pffft, you innocent little muffin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Involve a picture of a silly spirit doing silly things!
> 
> Also contain serious spoilers regarding Will of the Wisps. It is also the largest chapter so far and likely to be the single largest chapter of the entire fic.
> 
> You have been warned.

Given that his land was not currently frozen, on fire, or flooded and that he himself wasn't turned into an icicle, set on fire, or currently underwater, Eclair figured it might be a nice time to stretch his Light out and connect to the Light of the other Spirit Trees.

\---

>> Eclair has joined the chat room.

Sein: I thought you had forgotten about that! Oh Zion...

Gesseritch: Indeed, i did not! Got it right there! My daughter look soooo good in them, too!

Sein: I hope a gust of wind knock you right into a woodchipper!

Gesseritch: Hey, I thought you would actually appreciate that they're still being put to good use! Not like you can wear them anymore anyway, being a tree. My daughter look soooo good in them!

Eclair: What in the name of Zion is going on here.

Garsia: Complete nonsense, that is what.

Gesseritch: I'm just happy that my daughter look just as good in them as Sein once did!

Eclair: Look good in what?

Sein: NO. GESSERITCH! **DON'T!!**

Gesseritch: In this! :D

Sein: You PIG! I am going to KILL you! I swear! I will KILL you somehow!

Gesseritch: Love you too, babe! :D

Eclair: My eyes! I cannot unsee this image!

Sefirot: We all know Sein is a degenerate about as bad as Fellis! We did not need visual confirmation!

Garsia: I'm feeling weird. I think all my flowers just spontaneously dropped a mountain of pollen. Is that normal?

Mellyn: Those things look... special? What are they for?

Fellis: The day one of your daughters is old enough, have her wear these in front of a boy she like very much. That, is when the magic happens ;3

Sein: Please, can we talk about something else than my past mistakes?

Gesseritch: You sure didn't speak of it as a mistake when you were wearing these!

Eclair: ENOUGH! Enough! I can't take much more of this! What have I walked into? And who's the new voice I'm not recognizing?

Gesseritch: Fine killjoy. Eclair, meet Garsia, Spirit Tree of the tribe of the fire walkers.

Garsia: Salutations, Eclair. I have been told about you. Also, I'm technically... nevermind.

Eclair: Oh, really? Nothing bad, I hope.

Garsia: If you exclude you being an adorable cutie and setting yourself on fire trying to defeat a snowstorm, no.

Eclair: Zion no! Why did you tell them about this?!

Kiinae: We are all friends here, Eclair. If you can't laugh at your own life, then what does it say about your existence? Our lives should be filled with joy and laughter. Even if it means that someday, it will be our turn to be the source of laughs.

Gesseritch: Speaking of which, have you told them about what happened when one of your kids tried to hug you, Kiinae? :D

Kiinae: I may not have any nearby rocks I can lift and throw at you with my Light, Gesseritch, but I have plenty of snow which I can use to nail you in the branches with. Please keep that in mind before you continue.

Eclair: I see. So I guess you're all just sharing embarrassing stories about the past today...

Fellis: Actually, no. You may have noticed a larger amount of Spirit Trees being active today. This is because today is the yearly historical recollection day.

Eclair: Historical recollection day?

Sein: We were passing time while most Spirit Trees were connecting. Decay claim thousands of us and entire tribes suffer great loss over generations. So yearly, we try to share knowledge of our tribes' history and traditions so they aren't lost. We're just waiting for a few stragglers.

>> Pupae XVII has joined the chat room.

>> Eon has joined the chat room.

>> Leim has joined the chat room.

>> Ollan has joined the chat room.

>> Seir has joined the chat room.

Sein: Well, here we go. Is everyone here?

Seir: **I AM SENSING SUFFICIENT ACTIVE LIGHTS. WE ARE TO BEGIN, SEIN OF NIBEL. AM I TO BEGIN THIS SESSION?**

Kiinae: Actually, I think we should hand this honor to one of our newcomers. Let his curiosity guide this session.

Leim: "his"? We are Spirit Trees, freed of the confines of physical gender by holy ascension. "They" is the correct prefix.

Eclair: Hmmm... so what does it mean? Traditions? History? Do I start first or do I ask others?

Seir: **PICK WHICHEVER ROUTE YOU FIND MOST SUITABLE. JUST PICK ONE. THERE IS ONLY SO MUCH TIME IN A DAY AND WE ARE ALL VERY BUSY.**

Eclair: Guess I'll begin then. I'm Eclair, of the tribe of the sky. We're a relatively minor tribe, living by the northern lands, far from Zion's Throne. Though not so far as to have our land be covered in ice and snow. We're not an especially numerous or influential tribe, to say the truth. We do hold some of Zion's Light remnants and have reshaped some of the forest to form a shrine to His glory. Apart from shaping trees and some of the basic shaping techniques, like Spirit Well creation, our civilization is rather rustic. And we are aware that the crafting of Spirit Wells is an invention of Zion, one of the parts of His Light that exist within all tribes. Since our tribe is so small, we mostly just live off the land, remaining near our Spirit Tree.

Sein: And what do you do, most of the day? What's your culture like? The traditions?

Eclair: We are children of our Spirit Tree. Which I guess means the next generation will be born once I'm old enough. The Spirit Tree is meant to guide us all, to teach us of Zion's ways and the gift of Light He has given spiritkind. Children are raised communally, under the watchful eye of the Spirit Tree. Me now, I guess. Every week, the Spirit Tree, me since I sprouted, feel the land with my Light and direct the tribe to sources of food in safe locations. Then spirits are selected as hunters and gatherers to bring it back to the meadows for consumption and storage. My Light will protect the food from spoiling, at least I think I'm managing it. Apart from that, most of the days of the week are spent in prayer, taking in the Light of Zion through me.

Gesseritch: ...

Sefirot: How quaint. But what of Decay? Or of funeral rites? Your children, like you, do not live forever.

Eclair: I hold many significant fragments of Zion's Light within my being. If Decay appears, I shall use my power to drive it back. And if the need come for war, I can mass-infuse my tribe with the Light necessary to materialize Spirit Weapons. As for how we deal with death... well, if we can, when a spirit reach the end of their life, we bring them to the southern grove. There, they will take root among their ancestors, their Light departing to the Forest beyond Death. If a spirit is injured, they are to be be brought before me and I'll do my best to heal them.

Sefirot: And if they die or are killed outside of your Light's reach, then what?

Eclair: Hummm... I guess... well, we send a few priests to bless their Ancestral Tree.

Leim: No offense but your traditions are clearly those of a tribe who has never faced a true, focused effort by the Cult of Decay to conquer their land. If Shriek ever come to your land, she'll laugh at your tribe and tear you out of the ground like a weed.

Sein: This session is for historical and cultural exchange, not to judge one another's way of life! Suggestions are to be kept when this session is over. Thank you very much. Now, Eclair, any idea how your tribe came to be? Any interesting historical tidbits? How is your relation with the nearby tribes and Spirit Trees?

Eclair: I don't think so. Our tribe settled many generations ago in this land. It likely was Blind given the lack of a Spirit Tree but apart from some razor vines, the land was healthy. It was simply... empty. Waiting to be settled and filled with life. In fact, we settled there because it was pretty nice. If the memories I absorbed when linking to the Light are accurate, our tribe used to be nomadic and without a Spirit Tree. We'd wander the world, seeking shrines and temples to Zion, then whenever our numbers grew too low, we'd stop for a while, let one of us become a Called and then a Spirit Tree, produce new spirits for the tribe, then move on.

Sein: Wait? You moved on? What about the Spirit Tree you left behind?

Eclair: I guess they died. Until we settled in our new home, we just didn't have much luck with ascension. Our Spirit Trees shone weakly and died young. I guess we didn't have enough of Zion's Light within us for them to shine and live.

Sein: ...

Eclair: There's not much else to say. After we settled down in our home, we got into the rhythm and culture I was born in. Guided by the Spirit Tree, living in prayer, honoring Zion's legacy, and undertaking the pilgrimage of the Calling whenever our current Spirit Tree withers. We're in contact with a few foreign tribes but outside of the pilgrimage, we never interact much. We do not leave our meadow unless looking for food and outside of the pilgrimage, we are content to stay near the Spirit Tree and pray.

Gesseritch: What a bloody freakin' dull existence that is.

Eclair: What? Wha-?

Sein: Please don't make that kind of comment. Anyway, if you're done, feel free to tell someone to begin. Everyone, you heard how Eclair described it all. You can use that as a template when describing your tribe and land.

Eclair: Thank you. I know it probably wasn't very interesting but thank you for listening. Now, I'm curious... what about Seir? She barely speak and yet you all seem to hate her. What is it about her? I want to know.

Seir: **I AM THE HEIR TO ZION, THE SPIRIT TREE OF NIWEN. NIWEN IS NOT TECHNICALLY SPIRITKIND'S OLDEST NATION, NIBEL IS OLDER STILL, BUT IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT. IT IS THERE THAT ZION FREED THE WORLD FROM DECAY BY SEALING THE ABOMINATION OF THE OLD WORLD DEEP UNDERGROUND WITH HIS DIVINE POWER. THEN HE TOOK ROOT, BECOMING THE FIRST SPIRIT TO ASCEND AND THE LIVING SEAL THAT KEEP DECAY FROM CONSUMING OUR WORLD. OF ALL SPIRIT TREE DUTIES, THE MOST VITAL OF THEM ALL IS TO UPHOLD ZION'S LEGACY. NIWEN MUST ALWAYS HAVE A SPIRIT TREE. SOMEONE MUST TAKE ROOT UPON ZION'S THRONE AND KEEP THE DECAY BOUND WITHIN ITS PRISON OF STONE AND STEEL. SHOULD NIWEN FALL, THE WORLD SHALL EXPERIENCE AN AGE OF DECAY. EVERY TRIBE WILL SEE THEIR FOREST BECOME BLIND, REGARDLESS OF IF THEY ARE BLESSED BY A SPIRIT TREE OR NOT.**

Mellyn: Wow... is that true?

Sein: Unfortunately, yes. Zion's Throne is indeed the single holiest location to all of spiritkind. So long as a Light shine true from it, Decay's grip is weakened. And Seir is the one with that responsability.

Eclair: Why do you all dislike her, then, if she's so vital to everybody's safety?

Seir: **I WILL DO WHATEVER IS NECESSARY TO ENSURE THAT AN AGE OF DECAY SHALL NEVER COME TO PASS. I WAS BORN MANY MILLENIA AGO, IN THE THROES OF THE THIRD AGE OF DECAY. I WAS THE LAST DAUGHTER OF A DEAD SPIRIT TREE, HIS TRUNK ROTTEN AND TORN IN MANY PLACES FROM THE DECAY AS IT ATE THEM FROM THE INSIDE. I WAS THE LAST PULSE OF LIGHT AND LIFE THAT EXISTED WITHIN. I WAS BORN WITHIN AN ASHEN PLAIN OF DARKNESS AND DEATH, MY PARENTS A PAIR OF PETRIFIED MOKIS, MY SIBLINGS STATUES. I INHERITED THE LEGACY OF THE DEAD, I WAS RAISED BY CORPSES FROZEN IN NEVER-ENDING SCREAMS OF AGONY AND PLEAS OF MERCY. ALL OF YOU, UNGRATEFUL AND UNWORTHY, BALK AT MY METHODS. YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU KNOW PAIN. THAT YOU KNOW DECAY'S TRUE FURY. YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE ENDLESS FIELDS OF PETRIFIED CORPSES, REACHING TO THE SKIES, THEIR CHEEKS COVERED IN TEARS OF STONE. YOU HAVE NO SEEN THE DECAY COME ALIVE, THE VERY LAND WRITHING IN PAIN. YOU HAVE NO SEEN THE RIVERS AND LAKES OF PURE DECAY, AND THE HORRORS THAT ARE BIRTHED FROM THEM. I HAVE SEEN THOSE THINGS. I HAVE FELT THOSE THINGS. I HAVE FELT DECAY FLOW ON MY FUR, FORCE ITSELF INTO MY THROAT, SEEP INTO MY BLOOD. I HAVE FELT IT DRAIN THE LIGHT OUT OF ME, TRY TO MERGE WITH MY HEART-LIGHT ESSENCE AND DAMN ME TO ABSOLUTE DEATH BY PETRIFICATION.**

Mellyn: That sounds... horrible! Even the Blindness was never this bad...

Seir: **YOU KNOW NOT THE HORRORS OF A TRUE AGE OF DECAY. PRAY YOU NEVER EXPERIENCE SUCH AN EVENT.**

Sein: Excuses excuses excuses, blablabla. History and culture, pity party later.

Seir: **YOUR LACK OF DEDICATION SHOWS AS USUAL, SEIN OF NIBEL.**

Eclair: What about your tribe, Seir?

Seir: **FINE. NIWEN HAS SUFFERED GREATLY FROM DECAY AND BEING THE VERY SITE WHERE THE CULT OF DECAY WAS FIRST FOUNDED AND THUS, WHERE SHRIEK LAUNCH THE VAST MAJORITY OF HER ATTACKS. HOWEVER, FROM SIMPLE OBSERVATION, IT IS POSSIBLE TO SEE THE REMNANTS OF ZION'S DREAM FOR SPIRITKIND WITHIN. THERE EXIST MANY LARGE STRUCTURES OF STONE WITHIN NIWEN, MANY BEING SO TALL AS TO REACH TO THE CLOUDS. LIBRARIES, GREAT STRUCTURES DESIGNED TO CHANNEL AND PURIFY LIGHT, TEMPLES, AND MANY OTHER SUCH LOCATIONS EXIST. IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT ZION WISHED FOR SPIRITKIND TO BUILD GRAND CITIES AND SHAPE MECHANISMS EVEN GREATER THAN THOSE OF THE GUMON AND GORLEKS. THE METHOD BY WHICH MANY OF THOSE MECHANISMS FUNCTION STILL ELUDE THE WISEST KEEPERS OF KNOWLEDGE TO THIS DAY. FOR EXAMPLE, WITHIN THE SWAMPS NEAR THE SEA, THERE IS ONE SUCH MASSIVE STRUCTURE. A STRANGE AND TALL BUILDING, FILLED WITH COUNTLESS SPINNING WHEELS AND MECHANISMS POWERED BY LIGHT. AT THE TOP OF IT IS A GREAT LIBRARY, HOUSING TOMES WRITTEN BY ZION HIMSELF AND HIS DIRECT DESCENDANTS, DETAILING HOW MANY OF THOSE MECHANISMS WORKED AS WELL AS THEORIES ON HOW THE WORLD TRULY WORKS. THE WELLSPRING, AS WE CALL IT, IS NOT POWERED BY A WISP AND YET, SOMEHOW, IS CAPABLE OF USING LIGHT TO PURIFY WATER LIKE A WISP. IT IS A MYSTERIOUS THING. MANY KEEPERS OF KNOWLEDGE TRIED TO READ ZION'S DESCRIPTION OF HOW IT WORKS. APPARENTLY, THE TOME IS FILLED WITH INCOMPREHENSIBLE SERIES OF WHAT APPEAR TO BE EQUATIONS, OF BAFFLING COMPLEXITY.**

Eclair: Equations? Like how if you add two apples to a stack of three, you get five? What do equations have to do with Zion's relics?

Seir: **IT IS A GREAT MYSTERY. TRAVELERS AND KEEPERS OF KNOWLEDGE ALIKE CONTINUALLY GO TO NIWEN TO THIS DAY, HOPING TO UNDERSTAND THE MYSTERIES OF ZION'S LEGACY. I DO NOT BELIEVE ANYBODY WILL EVER TRULY UNDERSTAND FOR ZION WAS DIVINE, HIS KNOWLEDGE FAR BEYOND THE COMPREHENSION OF MERE MORTALS.**

Eclair: You mentioned a Cult of Decay. What is it? Who is Shriek?

Kiinae: Aaaaand Seir successfully distracted him from asking about her tribe. Of course.

Seir: **YOUR COMMENT IS INAPPROPRIATE, KIINAE OF POLARIS. MOVING ON. NOT ALL BEINGS HAVE THE SAME FAITH AND RESOLVE IN THE FACE OF DECAY. MANY GIVE IN TO DESPAIR. OR THEY BELIEVE THAT DECAY MIGHT REWARD THEM IF THEY INSTEAD SERVE IT. OR THEY BELIEVE DECAY TO BE A TOOL, WHICH THEY MAY WIELD FOR SELFISH PURPOSES. FOOLISHNESS. DECAY OBEY NOTHING AND NOBODY. IT SIMPLY IS. DECAY SEEKS NOTHING ELSE THAN THE TOTAL EXTINCTION OF EVERYTHING BUT ITSELF AND ITS OWN CHILDREN AND IT SHALL ONLY STOP ONCE THE LIGHT IS EXTINGUISHED AND THE LAST OF ITS CHILDREN DEAD. STILL, MANY ARE LURED BY THE INFERNAL TEMPTATIONS OF DECAY AND WILLINGLY AND FANATICALLY SERVE IT. IN TURN, DECAY REWARD THOSE WHO GIVE IN TO ITS TEMPTATIONS IN ITS OWN TWISTED WAYS, MUTATING THEIR BODIES, GRANTING THEM ITS UNNATURAL RAGE AND POWER, WARPING THEM UNTIL THEY BECOME ITS CHILDREN, STEALING THEM FROM THE LIGHT.**

Mellyn: Wait? Decay can do that?

Sein: Unfortunately yes, I can confirm. Decay is excessively nasty stuff. It's not just poison. It has a will of its own and once it has a foothold, it will slowly try to consume you. It will corrupt and assimilate anything it can reach. To lose to Decay is to lose more than just your life. It is damnation. Decay seek nothing else than to extinguish your immortal Light and leave you a stone statue, frozen eternally in a final expression of ultimate horror.

Seir: **DECAY'S CHILDREN COME IN ALL SHAPES AND FORMS BUT OUT OF ALL OF THEM, NONE ARE AS POWERFUL OR CUNNING AS SHRIEK. I REMEMBER SEEING HER AS A CHICK. A WEAK, PATHETIC, MALFORMED GREAT OWL CHICK, HER BODY MADE OF SO MUCH DECAY THAT SHE WAS MORE LIVING STONE THAN BIRD, MOVING ABOUT ON STILTS MADE OF PURE DECAY. IF IT HAD KNOWN WHAT THIS CREATURE WOULD SOMEDAY BECOME, IT WOULD HAVE DESTROYED IT THEN. REGARDLESS. FROM THE ACCOUNTS I WAS ABLE TO GATHER, SHRIEK INITIALLY SOUGHT TO BE ACCEPTED BY OTHER OWLS DESPITE BEING A CHILD OF DECAY. HOWEVER, WHEN SHE WAS, OBVIOUSLY, REJECTED FOR BEING A MONSTER, SHE THEN DISCOVERED THAT EVERYTHING FEARED HER. BEING A MONSTER, SHE THUS DECIDED TO BECOME THE CHAMPION OF DECAY AND TO SET OUT TO MAKING EVERY FORM OF LIFE IN THE WORLD FEAR HER. SINCE THEN, SHE HAS BECOME THE LEADING INTELLIGENCE BEHIND DECAY'S POWER WITHIN THE WORLD.**

Mellyn: Wait... wouldn't that make Shriek incredibly old? Wouldn't she have aged by now? And are you saying Shriek control all Decay?

Seir: **STONE DOES NOT AGE AS FLESH OR WOOD DOES. SHRIEK IS EFFECTIVELY IMMORTAL AS A RESULT OF THE DECAY BEING ONE WITH HER. MANY TIMES HAS SHRIEK BEEN SEEMINGLY KILLED. BELIEVE ME, EVERYONE HAS TRIED MANY METHODS OF KILLING HER ONCE AND FOR ALL. HOWEVER, EVERY SINGLE TIME, SHE HAS REGENERATED. ALL I CAN MANAGE IS TO FORCE HER INTO THE SHAPE OF A STATUE WITH MY LIGHT, WITHIN THE SILENT WOODS. BUT IN TIME, SHE ALWAYS RETURN. ALSO, WHILE SHRIEK MAY BE THE CHAMPION OF DECAY, SHE IS NOT ITS MASTER. THE TRUE SOURCE AND MASTER OF ALL DECAY LIES DEEP BENEATH THE GROUND, ZION'S THRONE ACTING AS THE LOCK. SHRIEK IS MERELY ITS HERALD AND AGENT IN OUR WORLD.**

Mellyn: Oh. I see.

Eclair: Is she really that scary? I heard Great Owls are gigantic and very strong but surely as Spirit Trees, we can take care of her?

Seir: **UNFORTUNATELY NO. SHRIEK IS MORE THAN SHE APPEARS. DECAY FLOW WITHIN HER AND SHINE LIKE THE LIGHT SHINE INSIDE A SPIRIT. THIS MEANS THAT SHE CAN WIELD, MANIPULATE, AND CONTROL DECAY IN SIMILAR WAYS TO HOW SPIRITS CAN CONTROL LIGHT. ALL OF THIS, WHILE PHYSICALLY BEING A GREAT OWL, A MEMBER OF THE MOST PHYSICALLY POWERFUL THINKING SPECIES IN THE WORLD, AND THEN BEING FURTHER AUGMENTED WITH HORRIFYING AND THOROUGH IMPROVEMENTS BY DECAY'S OWN TWISTED POWER. HER ENTIRE BODY IS LIVING STONE, ARMORED TO THE POINT THAT ALL BUT THE STRONGEST SPIRIT WEAPONS CAN EVEN HOPE TO SCRATCH HER. SHE IS EQUALLY AGILE ON THE GROUND AS SHE IS IN THE SKIES. AND MOST WORRYINGLY, SHE HAS THE ABILITY TO COMMAND AND ORGANIZE THE CHILDREN OF DECAY INTO A COHERENT FORCE WITH WHICH TO ATTACK, SUBVERT, AND CONQUER LANDS, WITH THE COUNTLESS FOLLOWERS AND SECTS OF THE CULT OF DECAY ACTING AS HER OFFICERS AND SPREADING HER POWER FURTHER. WHILE DECAY MAY BE A PERMANENT BLIGHT OUR WORLD HAS TO LIVE WITH, IT IS SHRIEK THAT TURNS IT FROM A MERE HAZARD INTO AN ACTIVE ENEMY WHICH WE MUST FIGHT.**

Gesseritch: Quite the unpleasant lass she is. Had a run-in with her once. Not ashamed to admit that I survived by hiding.

Pupae XVII: My tribe often has skirmishes with her forces. Decay's Monsters may seem dumb but when acting under the direct command of the Cult of Decay, they can be deceptively cunning.

Eclair: It all sounds... so scary. I... is there anything I can do? I feel...

Sein: Don't. Zion's legacy may feel heavy to bear but we are His heirs. We are carried on the chain of Light He forged and protected spiritkind from its enemies. Shriek may be terrible but she is not infallible nor are Decay's forces endless. Zion drove back Decay millenia ago. I drove back her goons' attempt at taking Nibel. You can protect your land too. Trust your Light and your tribe.

Eclair: Thank you. You're all so kind. So, Pupae?

Gesseritch: Not so fast! Seir still hasn't talked about her tribe. She spoke about a ton of stuff regarding Niwen but nothing about her tribe.

Eclair: Oh! Right! What about your tribe, Seir? Surely a Spirit Tree as ancient as you must have tons of children and a rich tradition?

Seir: **I DO NOT SEE HOW THIS IS RELEVANT.**

Mellyn: The entire situation is about cultural exchanges...

Seir: **MY TRIBE IS AS IT MUST BE.**

Sein: How delightfully vague.

Sefirot: Seir's tribe, like mine, understand the value of purpose and the reason why spirits exist. What is there more to say?

Eclair: That doesn't tell me anything...

Seir: **NIWEN'S TRIBE DOES NOT MINGLE OR WASTE ITS TIME IN IDLE PURSUITS. DECAY MUST BE DRIVEN BACK, NO MATTER THE COST. ALL MY CHILDREN ARE AWARE OF THIS. THEY KNOW THE COST OF FAILURE. I INSTRUCT THEM AND MAINTAIN THEIR SPIRITUAL AND MARTIAL TRAINING AS TO ENSURE SHRIEK AND THE CULT OF DECAY ARE DRIVEN BACK. THEY ARE BRAVE. THEY KNOW THAT WHILE THE VESSEL MAY FAIL, THE LIGHT IS ETERNAL. IN THEIR SACRIFICES, THE WORLD KNOW SALVATION.**

Fellis: You mean that you birth them as fast as possible, infuse them with the bare minimum knowledge to fight and ascend if a Calling is in effect, and then you send them to die fighting. And that's all your tribe is allowed to be, under your rule.

Sein: ...

Seir: **SEIN OF NIBEL. YOUR OWN EXISTENCE WAS ONE OF PENANCE. YOU DEDICATED YOUR LIFE TO REDEMPTION. YOU UNDERSTAND, MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE EXCEPT ME, WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE IN SACRIFICE. YET YOU DISAPPROVE OF THE WAY I RULE MY TRIBE, MY VERY CHILDREN.**

Sein: Because it's not the same. I was born damned, my Light infected with Decay. But even as I lived in penance and seeked redemption, I actually lived in penance. I laughed. I loved. I embraced the Light not merely of divine ascension but of my people, of the world. I inscribed deep into my Light happy memories of every land, of every relationship. I experienced love and knew friendship. I stood in awe of Zion's divine knowledge and the achievements of our tribes. I saw the beauty of the world He gifted us, and how important it is for us to protect it. I gave my life gladly in sacrifice at the end of a long and winding road of penitence and faith. As I embraced the Light, I did it because it was my destiny. Because I had realized and fulfilled my purpose and role in Zion's legacy. Seir. The young spirits that you call your children... they know nothing of the world they are meant to protect. They have not felt Zion's embrace, perpetuated by the chain of Light. They know nothing of the cycle, of the beauty of life. They have not felt the winds, tasted the waters, or basked in the warmth of the land. They have not known love, not forged chains of friendships with others. Their Light was never allowed to grow. Spirits are not meant to live this way, Seir. Zion never intended for our kind to be nothing but a procession of martyrs walking to lonely hills to replace Him.

Seir: **A ROMANTIC BUT FOOLISH VIEW POINT. NIWEN MUST STAND. NOT EVERY SPIRIT IS GIFTED WITH THE PATH OF REDEMPTION THAT YOU WALKED. NOT EVERY SPIRIT HAS YOUR FATE.**

Sein: But both I and you were allowed to walk this path! You deny them the chance of walking the path of a martyr! You demand sacrifice from them, rather than allow them to offer themselves!

Leim: Should we just leave?

Gesseritch: Naaaah. Hey, Sein! Seir! The memory image is faded but I think I got a memory image Light of what Seir looked like in life. I heard she had actually bigger breasts than you, Sein! Shall we do a comparison?

Sein: May razor vines grow all over you and choke the life out of you!

Seir: **WHA-WHAT?! HOW DARE YOU INSULT SEIR THAT WAY! I HOPE A SUDDEN GUST OF WIND SNAP HALF YOUR BRANCHES AND MAKE THEM FALL POINTY END FIRST ON YOUR ROOTS, YOU JERK!**

Kiinae: Whoa! You actually managed to offend Seir enough to make her split personalities speak out of sync! Awesome.

Gesseritch: Now that we're back on track. Eclair, will you please?

Eclair: Oh. Oh right. What about all of those others? Pupae XVII? That's an odd name...

Pupae XVII: I am Pupae XVII, Spirit Tree of the land of Ashyn. For those not in the know, Ashyn is the closest land to Niwen, being on the same continent. As such, our forest is the second most attacked one in the world. Our land is actually home to three tribes. A tribe of shapers, who shape great hives and have mastery of aerial mobility abilities. A tribe that specialize in warfare, living within the woods. And the most numerous tribe, the ground dwellers, who nest underground. Due to a high rate of attrition, Spirit Trees such as my predecessor and myself have modified the life sequence of the tribes as to insert traits based on bugs, as we noticed that out of the many animals, they reproduce the fastest in general. Thus, our respective tribes form hives of sorts, centered first around the Spirit Tree, then around a council of high priestesses, carrying out the Spirit Tree's will. Each priestess also act as a hive queen, help the Spirit Tree keep the population high with their unique mutation, allowing them to reproduce far faster than any normal spirit.

Sefirot: More Combined Light nonsense. You're sure you're not Fellis disguising her Light?

Pupae XVII: I will overlook this insult. Beside, there is little room for romance in Ashyn. Shriek and her agents are relentless and there is little time for courtship or forming families. I and the high priestesses raise thousands of spirits, which I then infuse all at once with standardized Light packages, based on the needs of the tribes.

Sefirot: So I take it that children are given specific purposes at birth?

Pupae XVII: Correct. We have diggers, shapers, scouts, soldiers, and all other kinds of roles for tribe members. While our tribes may not shape great villages like Niwen, I assure you that our civilization is quite developed. With so many spirits to feed, many of us practice what is known as farming, the raising of plants and animals purely to act as food and resources. Given our large population, we would starve if we lived off the land alone, even with Spirit Trees such as me shining brightly.

Mellyn: Then maybe your population is too large? To actually pen animals and raise them just to eat them? Sounds... unnatural. And cruel.

Pupae XVII: We do not have a choice. Decay is a relentless enemy, its children ever probing for weakness.

Gesseritch: I don't doubt you have quite the martial tradition, lass, but what about succession?

Pupae XVII: Living by the side of the Spirit Tree are the caste of the Light Daughters. A reserve of spirits, all with the potential to become Called, ready to venture forth to reconnect with the land should the worst occur. A necessary precaution ; not every Spirit Tree of Ashyn ended their life by withering peacefully of old age. Many were militarily defeated by the Cult of Decay, their defenders slain, and then uprooted or cut down by Decay's children. Keeping a cadre of Called handy just in case is necessary.

Sefirot: I approve of this.

Eclair: And what if the Light Daughters also die? Not that I doubt your abilities...

Pupae XVII: No offense taken. Do not worry. While life in Ashyn may be tough and most spirits live and die by their purpose, we are not the land of Hilldin.

Sefirot: I take offense to your insinuations!

Pupae XVII: Unlike in Hilldin, spirits who outlive their purpose or are found unsuitable for it may go to the Spirit Tree to find a new role. Some of our past Spirit Trees were actually not born as Light Daughters but rather as workers or soldiers. Some were even reproductive drones who after fulfilling their purpose, chose to become Called.

Eclair: You mentioned insect-like traits and now, you speak of workers and drones. Did it affect the way spirits are born in your tribes? Are they still compatible with wider spiritkind?

Pupae XVII: I assure you that though we look very unique, we are still very much spirits. And my daughters and sons alike are still fertile though they lack the high priestess caste's mutation. But it was noticed that since the application of those changes, we have been getting an abnormally high proportion of females compared to males. Also, while female body variations are still plentiful males tend to be born with a body type suitable for being reproductive drones above all else. Before you ask, we do not use males purely for breeding and then kill them like real insects. We are not barbarians. They are free to live as workers, shapers, keepers of knowledge, or any other role they may find themselves apt at. By virtue of males being needed to Combine Lights, they are however expected to answer the call of the high priestesses.

Mellyn: I'm not sure I wanted to know this stuff.

Eclair: I never knew spirits could be this diverse! Or that Spirit Trees could shape the life sequence of our kind! That is amazing!

Seir: **DO NOT BE TOO ENTHUSIASTIC, ECLAIR OF THE TRIBE OF THE SKY. LIFE SEQUENCE SHAPING IS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT TECHNIQUES OF LIGHT MANIPULATION KNOWN TO SPIRITKIND AND IS EXTREMELY CHALLENGING EVEN TO THE GREATEST OF SPIRIT TREES. RECKLESS MODIFICATIONS CAN RESULT IN HORRIFYING, CRIPPLING MUTATIONS. THERE HAVE BEEN MANY FAILURES IN THE PAST. MANY TRIBES WHO HAVE WIPED THEMSELVES OUT WHEN THE SPIRIT TREE APPLIED CHANGES TOO RADICAL FOR THE SPIRIT LIFE SEQUENCE TO ENDURE. THOUGH OUR NATURE MAKE THE SPIRIT LIFE SEQUENCE MORE FLEXIBLE THAN MOST SPECIES', IT CAN ONLY TOLERATE SO MANY MUTATIONS BEFORE BECOMING POISONED.**

Eclair: Sounds... scary.

Sein: Because it is. I admit I'm not comfortable with what the people of Ashyn did to themselves...

Eon: Grow up, Sein of Nibel. Life changes all the time. Such is the way of the true cycle.

Eclair: Huh? Who are you?

Eon: Eon, Spirit Tree of Alden. Somebody must carry on Zion's legacy of attempting to ceaselessly advance spiritkind. With most of you busy praying to Him, our tribe has taken upon itself to further His real work.

Fellis: Oh! Alden! Isn't that the land with the spirits that look like walking trees? Wait, wasn't the Spirit Tree supposed to be Oa? I know you guys don't tend to connect or speak much in our conversations but it's only been something like, I dunno, fifty years?

Eon: Our tribe gorge themselves in Light and ascend quickly. Our lives are short, our Lights being transmitted quickly, with little attachment to our lives. All of this, in pursuit of advancing our kind. The Spirit Tree is not an exception. We shine bright and burn ourselves early in the service of spiritkind. The average lifespan of Alden Spirit Trees is fifty years.

Eclair: That is... incredibly short!

Mellyn: That's shorter than a spirit's lifespan! By many centuries!

Eon: We do not seek long lives. We only seek to advance the species's cause. We shine brightly and within us, the knowledge of Zion swirls and swell. We are a people of keepers of knowledge and shapers, constantly seeking to understand the world. Someday, Seir allowing it, we shall take the tomes of Zion from Niwen's Wellspring, decode them, and spread this knowledge to the world.

Seir: **ZION'S TOMES ARE SACRED RELICS AND ARE VERY OLD AND FRAGILE. I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO TAKE THEM OUT OF THE GREAT LIBRARY.**

Eon: Zion always intended His knowledge to be shared with all spiritkind, you heretic!

Seir: **A LESSER TREE, MERELY A DECADE-OLD AT MOST, ACCUSING ZION'S HEIR AND THE SPIRIT TREE OF NIWEN OF BEING A HERETIC. HOW AMUSINGLY ABSURD.**

Eclair: So... hmmm... Eon? More about your tribe?

Eon: Certainly. We are happy to share all knowledge with all tribes. In fact, we are always first to volunteer ourselves to restore Zion's gifts to tribes who have somehow lost them. We breed duplicates of the packages and send them wherever they may be needed, to replenish the holy Ancestral Trees holding Zion's Light.

Eclair: Oh. Sounds good. Wait. Replenish Ancestral Trees? How can you restore an Ancestral Tree that has been already drained?

Eon: Through the sacred act of martyrdom. The gifts of Zion are within our pilgrims, who will sacrifice themselves to either create a new Ancestral Tree bearing this Light or pour their Light into a depleted Ancestral Tree.

Mellyn: Martyrdom? You kill yourselves?

Eon: Our priority is for knowledge never to be lost, the chain of Light to be uninterrupted. Do not mistake us for Seir, though. We give our lives for spiritkind. We hold no loyalty to our so-called "ascended" selves. Even I am little more than a servant of spiritkind. The divine Light we bear is meant to serve spiritkind, not the other way around.

Sefirot: As you can clearly see, the spirits of Alden and their trees are completely mad. It is best to ignore them.

Gesseritch: Naaah. I'd say it's best to ignore you, rather. Murder-tree and all, after all.

Eclair: Hmmm... fine. Leim?

Leim: Not much to say. Spirit Tree of Winel. We're merely the greatest tribe in the world. We follow Zion's legacy the best of any land and we send out pilgrims and Called all over the world, spreading the glory of our tribe. You might recognize us from how much better than literally everyone else in the world we are. Also, the moment Seir finally wither, we're totally nabbing Zion's Throne. It is our destiny.

Gesseritch: Oooooh! So that's where those idiots who keep ranting about being the best come from!

Leim: I knew you would be amazed!

Gesseritch: Sure am! Never saw a spirit trip and faceplant that fast into razor vines in my life before! As much as it might be in bad taste to say so, I must say that the look of sheer surprise on their face when they tripped over their own feet and planted themselves mid-speech is one of the highlights of my life as a tree!

Leim: ...

Fellis: Oh yeah! I remember this! Had one of these visit by recently! Managed to get herself turned down by absolutely every male and female in Duniwel one after another, spirit and moki alike! Then slipped by the bank of a swamp and became an Ancestral Tree!

Leim: Hummm...

Eclair: What do your children look like, mister Leim?

Leim: Canine base but with antennas. Often got shoulders or back-based leaf petals.

Eclair: Oh! So one did visit me lately! I thought it was a traveling clown! So it was actually a pilgrim?

Leim: ...

Kiinae: Need some Light information on how to form ice on yourself, Leim? You look pretty charred from here :D By the way, we did get a pilgrim from your land. Claimed he would spark wisps all over our land and prove himself better than me. My children dragged him back to our main settlement after he trapped himself in a block of ice.

Leim: Please stop.

Mellyn: I remember a spirit like that. Kept telling me I would not save the land and to stay at home, leaving it to the "professional" whatever that meant. We found him a few days later, very much lifeless, being eaten by Decay monsters.

Leim: I get it I get it! Please, can we move on? Eclair, ask someone else to tell their life story. PLEASE!

Sein: Hey, Leim! Are all of your kids born with one of your branches up their tail holes or do you shove one up theirs after they're born?

Sefirot: As amusing as this may be, I am a busy tree. Can we please resume this session instead of continuing to act like drooling lightless teenagers?

Eclair: Sorry sorry! So... hmmm... Ollan?

Ollan: Not much to say, I am afraid. I am of the stone crusher tribe. We are actually an offshoot of Alden, an ancient experiment. We live by the great canyons, where the red sand mountains and cliffs exist right next to a lush forest, like slices of desert inside of a great plain. We are often visited by gumon and gorleks, with whom we share knowledge of shaping. Our land and tribe actually lacked a Spirit Tree for the longest time in ages, with no Calling issued. According to our keeper of knowledge, a long-term experiment to find out if it is possible to live without the great cycle, using only his gifts of stone and steel. We have done well for the most part over the years.

Eclair: Heretics! Living without a Spirit Tree? That can't be!

Sein: More possible than you think, new boy. So! What made you join the tree club, Ollan?

Ollan: Believe it or not, it was an accident. Though we lacked a Spirit Tree, we had still use of wisps and used them to restore the land and power the relics built and gifted to use by the gumon and gorleks, as well as the ones we built ourselves. I think that by sparking wisps in so many locations and then combining them when they went unstable, I might have accidentally made myself suitable as a Spirit Tree candidate. The tribe is still divided on if that is good thing or not.

Eclair: Of course it's a good thing! You are now true spirits, living under the Light of Zion's Light as was always intended. Why would you be unhappy?

Sein: Quiet, new boy. Eon?

Eon: We We had heard of your tribe, Ollan. Do not worry, we are proud to learn that our kin has thrived and did not die. We would be happy to reconnect with our lost kin later and to help you with your mechanisms. I am sure there is much we could teach one another.

Ollan: I would be honored, Eon. Though I must warn you that our appearance may shock you. Generations of hard physical labor and intense shaping has caused a strange mutation in our tribe. Many of our members are very tall, with much larger muscles than most spirits. We have been told that some of our larger members look akin to glowing gorleks with just one pair of arms.

Eon: We do not judge on appearance. It is of no issue, Ollan.

Mellyn: So many cultures... I never knew our kind was so diverse!

Eclair: I don't understand! How did you survive so long without a Spirit Tree! It's just...

Sein: Even without a Spirit Tree, a tribe can drive back Decay through yearly Light Ceremonies. If what I'm understanding is correct, Ollan's tribe is living in a very remote area. Likewise, I bet that many of those gumon that are visiting are bringing forth Light Vessels and other such mechanisms, am I right?

Ollan: That is correct, Sein of Nibel.

Sein: Normally, only a Spirit Tree can keep a land pure. But if the land is in a place where Decay has difficulty reaching and enough purification relics are used, it would actually be possible in theory for a tribe to live without a Spirit Tree.

Mellyn: Would it be possible for any other land to also live that way?

Sein: Unfortunately, no. The flow of Decay through the world is quite strong and nothing short of a Spirit Tree will counter it in most places. Purification relics are complicated, most spirit tribes have long forgotten how to build them and lacking Light, many of the gumon and gorlek tribes lack a fast, reliable way of transmitting their knowledge to spirit tribes willing to learn. Even then, from what I know, purification relics demand a large amount of Light, more than the natural ambient Light can give. Most of the Light they used probably came from Spirit Tree donors surrounding Ollan's tribe.

Eclair: Can we move on and not talk about blasphemies anymore? Sefirot?

Sefirot: Gladly. Hilldin is the most populated nation in the world and the seat of the greatest spirit civilization in existence. I am a direct descendant of Zion, His holy blood coursing my veins and a fragment of His Light flowing into my core-heart Light. Nearly every tribe in the world has traits of ours, due to their common link to our most holy tribe. No spirits is born in suffering and blood, from the combination of two lesser Lights here. Every spirit is born in blessed Immaculate birth, descended from the divine Light of the Spirit Tree itself. Then all are granted a purpose and a destiny, transmitted to them by the holy will of Zion through the divinity of the Spirit Tree, inherited through the sacred rites. Every spirit follow their destiny, living as per the divine plan, working to ensure the prosperity of Hilldin and the glory of our race, free of impurity and sin. Under my ever vigilant Light, Hilldin is a land of peace and plenty, all living in purpose and prayer, never to be tainted. While we live far from Shriek's nesting and feeding grounds in Niwen, our sacred tradition and pride as Zion's direct descendants dictate that we keep a strong tradition of knowledge and military prowess. We do not rely upon gumon or gorleks here for shaping. We have no need of mokis to lend us their food and hands. The army of holy light is ever ready to spread the Light and Zion's will, defending all from Decay.

Gesseritch: Hey murder-tree! Do you still kill your own kids when you get bored of them?

Eclair: Err-what? Kill his own kids?!

Mellyn: Why would you say something so horrible?!

Sefirot: I do not "kill my kids when I get bored of them", Gesseritch. Unlike many tribes, we understand perfectly the value of a spirit's life.

Gesseritch: Pull my second branch from the left, it dispense apples. :D

Sefirot: Are you accusing me of lying?

Eclair: I do not understand. Why did he say such a thing?

Pupae XVII: Sefirot, what awaits a spirit that fulfill their destiny?

Sefirot: I do not "kill my own kids when I get bored of them". That is misinterpreting one of Zion's most sacred rituals. Do you not remember the sacred words? "It is thanks to His Light that we are alive. In the end, it shall be returned to Him" It is the fate of spirits to see their Light returned whence it came once their destiny has been fulfilled. For them to rebecome one with the Light that birthed them. Thus, as a spirit reach the end of their path, they are exalted. They are rewarded with divine ascension, their Light joining with that of the Spirit Tree, in this case me. Other tribes condemn all but their Called to never know the joy of ascension but within Hilldin, every spirit is granted this honor. Through exaltation, even the lowest of spirits, even the dullest Light get to feel the full glory of divinity as they leave their old lives behind. No Light is left behind, abandoned to Decay. All spirits within Hilldin know salvation and the divine reward of ascension.

Sein: Hello, hello? Sefirot? I'm trying to understand you but there's just too much bullshit in your Light!

Eclair: What are you talking about?

Eon: Sefirot is using flowery language to hide what he is truly doing to all of his children who have outlived their usefulness. Maybe I should describe the relic that is used to achieve the so-called ritual of exaltation. Namely, it is a series of two claws, placed parallel to one another. A spirit's head and shoulders go into one set of claws, their legs, tail, and hindquarters go into the other set. Then both sets of claws start rotating. One set clockwise, the other counterclockwise.

Mellyn: But that would... that would...

Gesseritch: Wring the poor lad and pour his Light, not to mention his entrails, all over the ground? That is correct.

Eclair: B-but why?!

Gesseritch: Because a spirit tend to resist if you try to suck the Light, and life, out of them. Broken corpses resist a lot less than live spirits.

Eclair: I... hummm... that... that can't be true. No way.

Mellyn: Please mister Sefirot. It can't be true.

Sefirot: They are twisting my words, as usual. While the process may appear painful, once a spirit has been exalted, their Light has rejoined with me and live on as a part of me. They know new life through me and in time, should the need arise, should they wish for it or if need of their skills for a new purpose arise, I will create flesh for them once more.

Sein: Please. Your children survive exaltation about as much as any spirit is considered still alive within an Ancestral Tree, which is not at all. Also Zion never said anything about exaltation. Ever. He loved spiritkind and gave His life for us. He did everything in His power to give us a future. He became our god because He loved us, because He needed to become one to protect us. And then, He gifted us with the ability to achieve divinity as well because His ultimately dream and will was for our species to live, to know dignity and redemption. You are a heretic and a blasphemer, Sefirot. If Zion were here, He would cut you down Himself for your sins against Him and His divine plan.

Sefirot: As I said, so many inferior beings with no accurate records of Zion's holy writ. May Zion forgive them when they wither and face his judgement within the Forest beyond Death.

Eclair: That just sounds... so horrible.

Kiinae: And now you know why murder-tree is only a tiny bit more popular than Seir.

Seir: **I DO NOT HAVE SUCH A WEAK GRASP OF ZION'S WILL AS THAT FOOL. WHY YOU KEEP COMPARING ME TO HIM, I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND.**

Gesseritch: But wait! There's mooore! Sefirot, you said that no spirit is denied exaltation, correct? What about those that Decay nab and sprout an Ancestral Tree?

Sefirot: Spirits denied exaltation because of predation, disease, or negligence may yet know salvation. Within the civilization of Hilldin, I bring forth an order of redeemers whose holy purpose is to gather all of the lost Light and bring it back to me. None are left behind, even beyond death, for I am a merciful god, as per Zion's will.

Eclair: A-and how would they infuse that Light back into Sefirot, afterward?

Sein: Exaltation.

Mellyn: I think I'm going to be sick... and I don't even have a digestive system anymore!

Eclair: Do I even want to know if he truly keep his tribe pure, as he says? And what about those who are born of Combined Light? Are they called to the Spirit Tree to be given a purpose?

Sefirot: Yes. Of course. But before that, they are purified. Their Light is filtered of imperfection and reborn from divine will, their flesh remade to be Immaculate.

Eclair: And how do you do that?

Sein: More exaltation.

Eclair: ... please. Tell me that's not true...

Sefirot: You seem to getting the wrong idea about exaltation. It is not death. It is glorious ascension and rebirth.

Eclair: Why. Seriously, why.

Sefirot: You irritate me. There is no life without destiny, without purpose. All of us exist as part of the great cycle. Every spirit is born with a purpose and a path they must walk. We all walk within the road of Light, revealed to us by Zion. The reason of our very existence lies within this holy destiny, our very beings chained to this great circle of life! It is the will of the wisps, the destiny of our race! Light is a part of us and we live for it! It birth us and we return to it at the end of our path! What good is a life without destiny? It is to be lost in darkness. To be devoid of Light. To exist without the joy of destiny and purpose. A life that lack fate is mere meat! What good is it to keep walking once the path has ended, to wander for years, decades, centuries the void and the darkness? Spirits are Light! We shine bright! And like a flame, our lives are extinguished with the loss of our Light. A body without destiny is a lightless one. Life has already left it. It should be put out of its misery

Sein: How about letting the actual priestess do the religious talk, murder-tree? You have a strange understanding of destiny. Yes, we are all bound by fate. Everyone of us has a destiny and a purpose. But you seem to think destiny is both fragile and can be deciphered by shining a bit of Light for five minutes. The wisest, holiest of Lights have spent their entire lives trying to understand what destiny expected of them and they never could grasp it. Even as a goddess myself, I still cannot see the path ahead clearly. Your arrogance and lack of respect for both life and destiny are speaking for themselves, murder-tree. Destiny don't need you to speak in its name. Light shall make its will known. Zion shall speak in the Light of all those willing to hear His call. They do not need you to speak in his name.

Sefirot: Then why do we exist, if not to be Zion's speakers? If our Light does not carry His will?

Sein: We aren't His speakers! We do not speak in His name! We are His successors, His heirs! We carry on the chain of Light, the sacred cycle He has forged! We are the heirs of His legacy, not channels for Him! The remannts of His Light within all of us do not order us around! It drive us to carry on His works!

Sefirot: You mean that His Light do not speak to YOU, Sein of Nibel.

Eclair: I can't take much more of this anymore. Can we move on? I don't want to hear about Hilldin anymore...

Mellyn: Can we talk about a more pleasant place? Any place, at all?

Eclair: Hmmm... how about... Duniwel? Yeah, Duniwel?

Sefirot: You shun my land and yet you wish to hear of the sinful, impure one's land? Your lack of virtue is shining so brightly I can feel it from my throne.

Fellis: So hummm... Duniwel is a bit of an odd place. Our forest is mostly one big swamp and the soil is rather lacking in nutrients. Due to this, like all of my predecessors, I'm using almost all of my energy shining my Light and keeping Decay at bay. This means that I just can't birth many spirits. In order for the tribe to not become extinct, we had to get busy so to speak and start breeding the way the ancients once did.

Sefirot: I have no idea where such myths come from.

Eclair: Ancients? Wouldn't they be Zion's children? Wouldn't He be fertile enough to not need his children to do that?

Fellis: It's just part of the records we have! And that's beside the point. So, some history. Duniwel is actually very conveniently located, which is why my tribe settled there. From here, you can reach most of the major forests and lands, so we figured that settling there would be convenient. And so we get a lot, and I mean a lot of visitors of all species and tribes. Travelers come here to share stories, relics, trade, and what not. In fact, we're kind of an economic powerhouse in a way. My kids actually had to build huge boxes to contain all the crysts we get from all those trades.

Eclair: Crysts?

Sein: Crystalized lesser spirit Light. Accepted almost everywhere by almost everyone as a currency. If your tribe doesn't know about economics, I'm absolutely not gonna teach you now. Ask Gesseritch later when you have a few hundred hours to spare. And a desire to fall asleep.

Fellis: Simply put, a lot of spirits and other people moved in. Like, a lot. Including tons of refugees from Hilldin. And well, all of those spirits living their entire lives here meant they eventually became Ancestral Trees here. Like, we got a lot of Ancestral Trees. So many it started to caused some... funny effects.

Eclair: Define "funny effects".

Fellis: Our land is kind of overloaded with ambient Light. During the night, every single tree has their leaves and branches glow like mine or any other Spirit Tree's. You can see auroras and other Light streams in the skies. It is incredibly pretty. It also means that pretty much anyone who live here can become saturated with Light. A bit of an opposite of Decay corruption, in a way.

Sefirot: And here comes the disgusting part.

Mellyn: I'd rather you stop talking, mister Sefirot. Or at least, take a break for a while?

Fellis: Because most of spiritkind rely on Spirit Trees for keeping the population up, it seems a lot of our species don't have a lot of the urges that other species have. Breeding is, so to speak, an acquired taste for most of spiritkind. However, once Combined Light breeding has been tasted by a spirit, so to speak, the lack of an urge actually translate to a lack of preferences...

Mellyn: So those mokis were wrong? I wasn't weird for taking an interest in girls as much as boys?

Fellis: Exactly. Take Sein for example.

Sein: Please don't restart. I had enough of the memory image Light sharing earlier!

Fellis: Yeah, she's better known for her male relationships but let's just say she had plenty of fun with quite a few girls too!

Sein: Is this "Pick on Sein" day or something? Geez!

Eclair: Wait, I think I get it. Duniwel, land or romance... low fertility for the Spirit Tree... ambient Light... The Light! It seeped into all those who settled there, not just the spirits!

Fellis: Ding ding ding! We have a winner! You get twenty crysts and a free Great Owl ride! But more seriously, many of the mokis have been so overloaded with Light that well... it turn out... How do I put it...

Eclair: What is it?

Fellis: Some of my kids look a lot like mokis, right? Well... in some cases, that's because they may, actually, have a tiny bit of moki blood in them...

Eclair: ... I have no words.

Gesseritch: Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it, lad! Or at least, 'til one of your kids try it, you being a tree an' all. Moki females can be every bit as intense and passionate as any spirit gal! Someday, I should tell you about those cute twins who invited me by that apple tree, the night after Rihan's Light Ceremony!

Eclair: LALALA I DO NOT WANT TO RECEIVE YOUR LIGHT ANYMORE. SEIN, PLEASE GO ON AND SAVE ME FROM THIS.

Sein: I'd rather not go mad as well so I'll go on. Nibel is actually quite a nice place. We've got a big gumon population, with one of their big cities, Forlorn, being here. We also got a big underground city of our own. As a sort of in-joke, we call it Black Root Burrows. Because, you know, underground and thus pitch black but filled with tons of spirits and thus actually being really bright. I know, not funny. Anyway, it's... my home. There's actually quite a few neat ruins and temples all over the place, including one at Mt.Horu that just keep getting blown up and half-melted every single time we get a Blindness. Makes me wonder what my ancestors were thinking, making a temple there. If you exclude the large number of ruins, it's actually kinda bland.

Gesseritch: Bland? Are you talking about the same Nibel I heard of? Didn't you use to have trouble with gumon making stupid experiments and that whole business with Shriek trying to create a Decay-based Spirit Tree?

Sein: Oh! That was many centuries ago, when I was running around! Our tribe was just depressed all the time because most of us had minor Decay corruption and every Called that came to our land kept failing. Though with hindsight, maybe we should have gotten suspicious that so many Called would just keep failing. Anyway! Yeah, the gumon are interesting neighbors. They're very nice! And they're so curious and happy to teach us how to manage our own attempts at shaping stuff too! But sometimes they mess with Light in ways that make very big booms. They recentyl used a big mechanism to shift my Element of Winds to their city to act as a power source. I admit that make me a bit nervous but they say it's safe and they got plenty of failsafes so I'll believe them.

Gesseritch: Say, aren't you having a new batch of kids soon? I heard you talking about that earlier.

Sein: Oh! Yeah! I'm about to be a mother, again! They're all so cute! I got one growing on my leftmost branch in particular and ooooooh I already love him! I decided to call him Ori.

Gesseritch: After ZIon's firstborn? Thinking he'll take after his mother and do great things?

Sein: I hope not. My life was plenty eventful as is. He'll have a quiet, peaceful life, with no crazy troubles or any supervillains in his life or any of the wisp-related nonsense I went through. Still, if he could have a bit of the bravery and kindness the hero of legend had, I really wouldn't be against that.

Eclair: As interesting as this sounds, can we talk about history and culture?

Sein: Oh yeah, sorry. Since Nibel has been without a Spirit Tree for so long, my tribe has actually a strong religious tradition. Every year, all my kids and kin gather and help me with it. It's pretty nice of them! Of course, since I'm a Spirit Tree now, I no longer need their help but it's nice to be loved and cared about like that. I'm just... well, I'm happy. I may no longer be able to move but I'm just... surrounded by love. And everyone is just so full of hope. Yep. The future is looking bright for Nibel.

Kiinae: Your tribe still help you channeling the Light during Light Ceremonies? Isn't that kind of... dangerous? You know, possibly overshooting and accidentally frying part of the forest?

Sein: We had a bunch of Great Owls complain about that the other day actually. Some Kuro girl complaining about last year's ceremony making a few of the trees nearby sizzle from the overload. I got things well in hand, don't worry. Compared to some of the troubles we faced, a grumpy Great Owl is nothing, really.

Eclair: Well, I guess we can carry on then. Kiinae, maybe? Gesseritch? That Garsia person who was talking when I first connected myself here?

Garsia: I am glad you remember I exist. Also, sorry for the silence. I was still processing the fact that Sein used to look... well... hmmm....

Gesseritch: You can say it, lad. Sein does not need her Element of Warmth wisp to be hot. She is that way all the time! :D

Sein: I hope the spreading embers of a forest fire find your roots.

Eclair: So Gesseritch, what about you?

Gesseritch: Rihan is the land of ADVENTURE! Caves to explore, mountains to climb, lakes to swim through! And combined together at spots! Mountain caves! Mountain lakes! Underwater caves! Lakes under mountains! A lake in a cave in a mountain! We have everything you need to become an Ancestral Tree!

Fellis: Wouldn't it be for your thrills?

Gesseritch: If you're a good adventurer, yes! But we all know most spirits can't climb to save their lives and tend to hug razor vines even more often than they hug their parent Spirit Tree! :D

Sein: Just... carry on.

Gesseritch: I live in a land of ADVENTURE!... but my tribe are frankly a huge bunch of pansies. Never wandered away from my predecessor, never wanted to go anywhere scary or "dangerous". We have the most beautiful mountains in the world and most of them remained so firmly by the Spirit Tree's side that you'd swear they grew roots while alive! Seriously, it was like my entire tribe's sense of adventure was concentrated solely in me. And the moment I became Called, they kept pestering me to become the next tree already. Something about the Blindness. Bloody idiots! Just do a Light Ceremony and drive away the bloody Decay! It's not hard! Well, yeah it's hard but Nibel did it for over 150 years while being right next to Niwen!

Eclair: You refused to become a Spirit Tree? How? You're one now.

Gesseritch: I'm not an idiot, kid. My land needed me and I knew only I had what it takes. But I loved life. Still do. I'm not a quitter. Never was. No disemboweling myself or any of that stupid "embracing the Light" then exploding bullshit. I wanted to live all the way to a ripe old age and then grow roots only and ONLY once my body actually fall down and put itself in the ground without asking for my consent. Not one minute earlier! And those pansies, I forced them to accept it too. They told me to stay, not to wander in case I die in another land! I'm not made of straw! And I wasn't made of straw back then either! I shown them, to the end!

Eclair: What about now?

Gesseritch: My tribe... is a work-in-progress, I admit. And well... so am I...

Mellyn: What do you mean, mister Gesseritch?

Gesseritch: I didn't want my kids clinging to me for dear life like most of my kin did to my predecessor. So... I made sure I passed away on some mountain cliff. Made it literally impossible to just stay by my roots all the time. So now, they got to live without me... and... well... I... got to live without them...

Mellyn: ... oh.

Gesseritch: I can see them. Feel them. And they see me, every time they look up. Due to where I am, my Light is visible from any point in Rihan. So I guess... that I'm never alone, and neither are they.

Eclair: Do you regret it?

Gesseritch: Well, beats trying to dig roots through my own bed.

Mellyn: That's mean!

Gesseritch: More seriously, yes and no. On one hand, yeah, I admit I wish some days I could feel one of my kids on my roots. But... my tribe is alive. Truly alive, now. They are spreading out. They are... learning. They are seeing my forest. And maybe... someday before I wither... one of them will climb up and, you know, try to shake one of my branches or something? Or poke me in the trunk? Or stomp on one of my roots? I've not planned that far with what I was saying!

Eclair: And history?

Gesseritch: Kid, I got enough history to tell you for you to wither twelve times before I'm done. I lived for my kids. I had enough adventure to fill several hundred tomes-worth of stories. And even now, the adventure continues, beyond death.

Eclair: Oh really? Adventure? How?

Gesseritch: You, of course, kid. You. Every day is a new adventure with you guys.

Eclair: I... I...

Sein: It's Gesseritch. Don't think on it too hard.

Eclair: Alright...

Mellyn: So that just leave Kiinae and Garsia, out of our group.

Garsia: I am glad you remembered I exist. Is it time for me to speak?

Eclair: Sure, I guess.

Garsia: Time to introduce myself then. Garsia, of Sedel. We're Ashyn's neighbor and also bordering on Niwen from a land route. It may not seem like it, since I only drop in once every few months but we're an important place, you know. Our forest is less a forest and more a big savanna, with the sea on one side and great valleys and mountains separating us from Ashyn. A series of small passes connect us to Niwen. As for my tribe... well, that's the interesting part. I technically don't belong to one.

Mellyn: What do you mean by that, mister Garsia?

Garsia: Sedel is inhabited by no less than eight spirit tribes, all living off the land and living in relative peace. I'm actually watching over all eight and birthing to help all of them.

Eclair: Eight tribes? Wouldn't that cause problems? How do you all manage it?

Garsia: Glad you asked! Our tribes do feel a tiny bit hostile toward one another but thanks to the ritual of the Calling and the Light Ceremonies, we keep it all friendly. The different tribes rule this land through a council, made of their strongest, wisest members, with me overseeing the council and acting to break up disputes and what not. When a Calling occurs, a Called of every tribe compete to become the next Spirit Tree. Whoever manage it get the honor of ascension but in the process, lose their ties to their tribe as they must now act as a ruler and peace person for all tribes. So I gave up my ties when I ascended, as a sacrifice to ensure I remain neutral. After all, as a Spirit Tree, I represent Zion and His will above all else, not the interests of any tribe in particular.

Fellis: Competition? Do you share the land like we do in Duniwel?

Garsia: No. We do not trade baubles or waste time toying with stone. We live as spiritkind has always lived. We are one with the elements, our Light shining with the forest's, living off the land and its creatures, shifting and adapting with the seasons and flow of the forest. We don't need some big collection of huts. The forest is our home.

Gesseritch: Yeah right. And what happens when a tribe get into the best spot? Or when that dry out and suddenly a second tribe got the best spot? You must break out a lot of disputes, kid.

Garsia: The tribes respect my authority as the representative of Zion. The tribes do not stay in one spot within Sedel anyway. They shift and they adapt.

Eclair: What about Decay? You're right next to Niwen and Ashyn had to take some scary-sounding measures to keep up...

Garsia: No offense to Pupae XVII and the tribes of Ashyn but we have always managed to fend off Decay's children. Our people is strong, brave, and we keep our combat skills sharp. Decay does not catch us off-guard.

Pupae XVII: Easy to say when you have eight tribes and can probably bury them in bodies.

Garsia: My pride as a member of the fire walker demands that I argue that no, our tribes really are stronger and better at fighting. But I am the Spirit Tree now and I will simply say that our situations are likely too different to compare. Sedel may be a vast land but entering it demand passing through a small valley by the mountains. That position is easily defended. There are many chokepoints that Decay must go through to invade our land. And the forest being so thin, there is little for Decay to possess and corrupt as to bypass our defenses.

Pupae XVII: I'll concede this. Ashyn may be a beautiful place but it doesn't have convenient natural defenses like this. I could try shifting the forest to create some but that might be risky.

Sein: Can we talk military tactics some other time? Let's stay on track.

Garsia: Alright. Apart from that, generally, we don't have much of an interest in shaping. Our keepers of knowledge concern themselves with memorizing prayers, rituals, how to interact safely and respectfully with the forest, and the various methods and tactics to use against Decay, alongside with some healing techniques. We don't take interest in numbers or why the sun shine in the sky. Practical knowledge, no unimportant stuff. Likewise, our shapers make and sharpen our spears and knives from wood and stone, dig pits, and create the various tools we need for every day life.

Eclair: Dig pits?

Garsia: Our shapers take large branches and small trunks of dead trees and shape them into wickedly sharp spikes, which we then arrange around, often hiding them in pits. The Decay has killed millions of our people through the world with razor vines over the generations. With those spikes, we give Decay's children a taste of their own medecine.

Ollan: Oh! That is interesting! If you don't mind me, I'll be taking some notes...

Seir: **SPEARHEADS OF SHARPENED STONE, LIKELY NOT EVEN FORGED. SUCH PRIMITIVE WEAPONS ARE UNLIKELY TO HARM ANY BUT THE LOWLIEST OF DECAY'S AGENTS. YOU ARE OVERESTIMATING THE STRENGTH OF YOUR DEFENSES.**

Garsia: We don't rely purely on these for fighting Decay. We are a brave people, not a foolish people. We have plenty of Spirit Weapons. We do hold Zion's Light, as all faithful spirits do. The gods would frown upon us if we did not.

Eclair: Gods? Plural? We're not frowning on you. We don't have faces anymore...

Garsia: I'm meaning the gods of the sky and waters. We believe that there exist more gods than just the Spirit Trees. That the wisps are the physical incarnations and representatives of those greater gods of the land.

Mellyn: That's strange. I never felt the presence of any greater will when I sparked my wisps...

Garsia: The gods of the land are very subtle, I am not surprised you are unfamiliar with them.

Sefirot: Superstition. And heresy, as well. There is no proof that any other gods other than Zion and us exist. What you are feeling is likely just your own divinity, your perspective warped by your own wishful thinking, attributing to imaginary gods what is actually the echo of Zion's radiance.

Garsia: I was silent when you described your horrific, barbarian ways. I'll request you stay silent while I describe our people's way of life.

Eclair: Anyway! Anything else?

Garsia: We have plenty of traditions. But I don't think you all want to hear about our various coming of age rituals. They're boring. Even to me. Also, sometimes painful. My feet never really recovered from my coming of age rite. Fire walking is harder than it looks, you know.

Mellyn: Aaaw. I wanted to hear more about you and your tribes.

Eclair: Well, of our group, I guess that leaves Kiinae.

Kiinae: Our land is one of the most recently settled ones. In fact, I am Polaris's first and only Spirit Tree as of now. Our tribe is heavily mutated and adapted to the cold and icy mountains, having been born near the frozen edges of the world. Our tribe actually look like rams and goats, without antennas. Instead, we sense the ambient Light with our horns. I was one of many within my tribe and we were looking for a new land to settle in...

Eclair: Why?

Mellyn: No antennas? That sound weird.

Sefirot: Horrifying that's what it is. Disgusting mutants.

Kiinae: That is why. Spiritkind in general is quite tolerant and accepting of mutations, of which we have countless. However, antennas are one of the fundamental aspect of spirit anatomy and since our tribe lacked visible ones, most of our old tribe ceased to recognize us as fellow spirits. Things got... nearly violent near the end. There were a lot of arguments, insults, even threats and very, very hurtful things being said. Beside, we were getting crowded. So we left. And then we found Polaris.

Garsia: I heard of this place. Spirits were never meant to live in such a place. You shouldn't have come here.

Kiinae: It's cold but it's our home and we love it as it is.

Garsia: Home? Even with your thick fur, you need to cut down trees and build large huts of wood to shield yourselves from the wind. You even continue to cut down the trees past this, just so you can burn them and stay warm! And then you cut yet more trees, to build great constructs that float on water as to get food from the sea, since your land is barren! And you call this home? You defile the forest and offend the gods to live in your so-called home!

Sein: You're a primitivistic idiot, we got that already. Also, double standards much? You didn't complain about how Nibel's tribe has a big honkin' city of stone and coexist with the biggest city of mad scientists in the world. Seriously. Calm down, cooked paw boy.

Eclair: Sounds like a harsh life...

Kiinae: Yes but it's our home, we got plenty of space, and it is more beautiful than you can image. If I may boast for a moment, I think Polaris may be the prettiest place in the world if you exclude Duniwel. The snow plains are truly beautiful during the night, especially the auroras in the sky.

Eclair: So you moved in and built yourself homes. That is it?

Kiinae: Wasn't that simple. Decay held this land before us. One of Decay's greater abominations, the Great Serpent, held this land.

Eclair: Greater abominations?

Sein: Shriek may be Decay's greatest champion but she's not the only one. Decay has many servants and the Cult of Decay has sects all over the world. Just like me, Kiinae earned her Spirit Tree ascension by defeating one of those abominations. From the descriptions she gave me before, the thing sounds like some of the nightmares right out of Zion's myths. And I totally believe it too. Nibel was almost consumed by one such abomination a few centuries ago, when I returned. Never understimate Decay. Even if Shriek is far away, it doesn't mean you're safe from giant, horrifying unnatural monsters.

Eclair: And you all told us about that earlier. So... your people have a lot of shapers.

Kiinae: We don't have access to the Light of many ancient Ancestral Trees like some of your tribes are. But we have a knack for being clever and figuring things out on our own. I also sometimes request Light packages on how to shape a few things or how nature works.

Sein: You request that all the time, you mean.

Kiinae: We also have quite a few interesting traditions and holidays! During the yearly Light Ceremony, my children actually put glowing strands all over my needles and attach colored balls to my branches. It makes me look so pretty!

Garsia: Sounds useless.

Kiinae: I didn't comment on how your tribe make their kids walk on fire and set their feet ablaze when they come of age, don't comment on my kids enjoying their holidays a bit much.

Mellyn: I'd love to hear about your holidays sometime, Kiinae.

Kiinae: And I'd be glad to share.

Seir: **THE SUN IS ALREADY SETTING UPON MANY OF THE FORESTS. IT HAS BEEN SEVERAL HOURS NOW. THE TIME FOR THIS EXCHANGE TO END IS NOW.**

>> Seir has left the chat room.

Mellyn: Rude?

Sein: It's been a while though. We've all been talking for an incredibly long time. Well, I guess we can end this session here. And well, it IS pretty dark outside. My kids are kind of worried that I've been silent for so long now!

Fellis: Same here. Ow! One of them just poked me with a stick! I think I really need to go.

>> Fellis has left the chat room.

Eclair: Well, I guess we can't really continue if everybody start leaving. Still, it was incredible. I never knew spiritkind was so diverse!... though I admit I'm not sure I am happy knowing about Hilldin...

Sein: It's alright and believe me, we're just scratching the surface. Someday, we will tell you all over our adventures.

Gesseritch: I have more than enough tales to delight you for millenia to come, lad! You will not be believing half of it!

Sein: Because all of it is bollocks and only half is remotely believable?

Eon: Well, it was nice to have a reminder. I also hope that with the knowledge of my existence, should you need Light packages, you will not hesitate to contact me. Now, I must return to my research.

>> Eon has left the chat room.

Leim: Pfffft. That sucked. I won't be made fun of, next time! You'll see!

>> Leim has left the chat room.

Eclair: ... well, guess I might as well leave too. See you everybody.

Mellyn: I'm looking forward to talking with you again.

Kiinae: Take care!

Fellis: See ya around, cutie!

Gesseritch: Have a nice day, lad! Or good night, no idea what time is it on your end of the world.

Sein: We will be talking again.

>> Eclair has left the chat room.

\---

Eclair paused briefly. So many lands, so many tribes, so much variety to spiritkind... he had never suspected that the world would be so large and so diverse!

However, his mind drifted briefly to what he heard. The Great Serpent, one of Decay's abominations, the extrreme methods the tribes of Ashyn had resorted to to survive... it scared him. Decay had already tested him and he had almost killed himself fending it off. Just how terrifying the Cult of Decay could be? And why is Decay a thing, actually? Where does it come from? Why does it hate spiritkind so much?

Then there was Hilldin and Sefirot. He had never really imagined that this might be why the others called him 'Murder-tree'. The idea of a Spirit Tree, of fellow spirits doing this to other spirits... it was wrong. Why would anybody do such a thing to another thinking being? And then defend such actions?

He tried not to think about such things.

Sein was right, the future is gonna be bright. All of those big scary stories are stories of the past, to entertain young ones. The spirits of the present, like that soon to be born 'Ori' kid Sein is having, will have a peaceful and quiet existence. He and the others shall make sure they never go through such things.


	5. When a daddy annoy a mommy very much...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So! What's the deal between Sein and Gesseritch? Huh? What's the deal?

Eclair would have yawned if he was still capable of doing so. Days just felt alike when he was unable to move. For a moment, he wondered if he would start hallucinating about rainbow owls hanging upside from mountains again. Nah, that would be repetitive. Time to connect his Light to that of the other trees and see what's being said today!

\---

>> Eclair has joined the chat room.

Sefirot: I've been meaning to ask. Do you do anything, Kiinae? Anything at all, I mean? You seem to be permanently connected to the network alongside Sein and Gesseritch. Don't you have any duties as a Spirit Tree at all?

Kiinae: Would it make you wither to spend a single day, just a single one, without giving us all the urge to send a bunch of our kids at you armed with saws and axes?

Eclair: Maybe I should come back at a better time...

Kiinae: Nah, you came at a perfect time. This should be a nice change of pace! So, Eclair, anything to say?

Eclair: What? Me?

Sein: You've been here for a while now, aren't you? I think it's only right for you to actually start asking and bringing up subjects of your own.

Eclair: I don't know! Nothing ever happens! I just suck nutrients from the ground, expel oxygen, and shine Light! There hasn't been anything interesting in my land for the last few months! And even if anything interesting might have happened, I'm literally planted on the spot! I can't move!

Sein: Well, your vocabulary got better. Still, go on! I'm sure you got interesting things to say!

Eclair: Hmmm... err... I...

Sein: Don't be shy, now!

Sefirot: We already have Fellis being a perverted impure wench. Please do not start acting like her, Sein.

Sein: Nobody asked for your opinion, murder-tree. Eclair?

Eclair: Hmmm... oh! I got something! There's been this cloud in the sky!

Kiinae: Yeah?

Eclair: It look a bit like an owl's head?

Sein: ... really.

Eclair: I thought that looked kind of neat?

Sefirot: I think I felt myself wither a tiny bit just from listening to this.

Eclair: Wait wait! Errr... I saw a bird fly above me the other day?

Sein: Oh Zion. I think I can feel myself withering from boredom.

Eclair: It was blue!

Kiinae: Blue birds are common, Eclair.

Eclair: A very neat shade of blue!

Kiinae: In every single part of the world.

Sein: Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all...

Gesseritch: Woe is the Spirit Trees of the world, plagued by Decay, withering, pigeons, and the inability to scratch our own noses.

Sein: My nose has been itching for a hundred years. It's gone but I still feel it itching. And I can't move my branches to scratch it. It sucks.

Kiinae: I lose my needles all the time. They form a big carpet on my roots. A carpet that ITCHES.

Gesseritch: I've had a cramp in my back. For over twenty years. Seriously.

Sefirot: I never realized how much I took my limbs for granted until I experienced the abject torture that is a swarm of beetles climbing on you and then sucking the sap of you. I've been tempted some days to birth a few servants just to fend off stupid insects who think I'm some common tree they can parasite.

Gesseritch: Think that's bad? Just wait until you get fungi growing on you. You'll find yourself regretting ever ascending.

Sein: I never thought I'd hate moss before. Or find myself wishing death upon moss. Now, I very much wish all moss in the world would go extinct.

Eclair: ... I... I need to do something before this get worse.

Kiinae: Have I mentioned that Polaris is a snowy land? I miss being able to curl up by a fire so much ;n; I'd give everything just to not freeze outside for five minutes... ;n;

Sein: I miss food so much... ;n;

Gesseritch: I used to take daily walks you know. I'm so sick of staring at the same patch of trees day and night... Is it that much of a crime to just want to see something else, ANYTHING BLOODY ELSE FOR A SECOND?!? ;n;

Eclair: Hmmm... oh! Sein and Gesseritch! You two! Is there some kind of history between you?

>> Mellyn has joined the chat room.

Eclair: Hummm... why did everyone go silent all of a sudden? Oh, hi Mellyn!

Mellyn: Hi there Eclair.

Sein: You know what? Just... just... let's do this. Fine. Anything is better than this.

Mellyn: This?

Eclair: Please don't ask. Anyway, Sein and Gesseritch, they're finally going to explain the deal between them!

Mellyn: ...

Eclair: Mellyn?

Mellyn: I'm just reminded of my... boyfriend.

Eclair: Oh...

Gesseritch: Alright. No more gloomy talk! Time to introduce you to my true story! I was, and am, quite the ladies male, you know!

Sein: Pfft. Some ladies male. I remember the first time I met you.

Gesseritch: I made a lasting impression!

Sein: You sure did. On the floor. Tripped over your own feet trying to pose and faceplanted right there and then.

Gesseritch: It had rained very hard that day. The next times we met, I did not faceplant!

Sein: Teeheehee! Well, when you weren't pushed down by someone!

Gesseritch: I remember that sometimes, that someone would be you. Just walked up to me with that huge frown and then dopeslapped me behind the head.

Sein: And you always took in stride.

Gesseritch: Always!

Sein: You are an idiot.

Gesseritch: Love you too, babe :D

Eclair: So how did you meet? I mean, any details beside Gesseritch making a fool of himself?

Sein: I was still young. Barely had started my travels through the world. Hadn't even sparked my first wisp yet. Rihan was one of the first lands I visited, actually. Heard about the powerful winds and the mountains and well, I wanted to see them. I also wanted to feel the ambient Light, hoping it would help me in my quest to redeem myself. So I walk into the tribal village and what do I see? This huge oaf making a fool of himself, surrounded by giggling females.

Gesseritch: They were impressed by my muscles!

Sein: I think they were laughing at you.

Gesseritch: Nope! I really did have nice muscles!

Sein: Grampa.

Gesseritch: Not back then! My back didn't hurt and I was more than capable of keeping up with the best of them!

Sein: Still, many of those females were much cuter than me. I never understood what you, what everyone saw in me.

Gesseritch: You always did, and still, underestimate yourself, Sein.

Mellyn: Aaaaaw.

Sein: You do realize you physically can't get laid anymore, no matter how much you flatter me?

Gesseritch: Pffft. We both know that this Ori kid growing off you is from my pollen :D

Sein: Oh Zion I hope not. I don't walk him constantly puffing his chest, boasting like he was Zion's second coming, and trying to show off only to land face first into razor vines.

Gesseritch: You actually considered the possibility ;3

Sein: I hope a landslide throw you off your mountain.

Eclair: So about you meeting one another?

Sein: I didn't like him very much. Was surrounded by stupid females, faceplanted trying to do a pose, then immediately started throwing cheesy pick-up lines at me. I was completely confused. Not to mention grossed out. I didn't even understand half of what he said back then. It's only after my visit to Duniwel and my initiation to the concept of romance and combining Lights that I realized that the old fool had been throwing pick-up lines at me.

Gesseritch: I did notice that you were not picking it up, by the way. My offer to teach you was genuine too! You wouldn't have had to wait until your visit to Duniwel to learn of the joys of combining Lights.

Sefirot: Fluid exchange. Such a great joy.

Eclair: Do you truly intend to do that kind of comment the whole time?

Sefirot: I do not see why not.

Eclair: Why not just disconnect your Light and go do... whatever you do with your days?

Mellyn: Are you sure this is a good idea to tell him to do that?

Eclair: Huh? What? ... oh. Oh. Ooooooh. Nevermind! You can stay as long as you like! In fact, got extra insight, Sefirot? We would like to hear that very, very much!

Sefirot: How you two ever became Spirit Trees, I will never understand.

Eclair: I may not have needed to go on an epic journey to redeem my Light like Sein but I still sparked the wisps and ended my life as Zion will it. I'd like it if you stopped constantly implying we are somehow lesser.

Sefirot: That is because you are. You are inferior flesh, merely selected for the task. I was born to be a Called, my flesh pure, my life sequence written and the fragments of Light used to create me immaculate in their purity. You ascended from an echo of greatness. I was born to be divine.

Mellyn: How about we go back to Sein's and Gesseritch's story?

Gesseritch: After that, I offered her to give her a guided tour of Rihan. Because why wouldn't I be nice to a lady?

Sein: I refused, of course.

Gesseritch: And off she went! I asked her if she was confident in her skills to tackle Rihan all by herself like that but then she assured me that she was all good. She was very convincing!

Sein: I whacked him on the head with my Spirit Hammer.

Gesseritch: See? Very convincing.

Sein: So after I left that moron drooling on the ground... seriously, why was he drooling on the ground... I carried on, trying to purge that stupidity from my memory. Then lo and behold! Who was there when I made it to the eastern edge of the forest, near the moonlight pass? Gesseritch! Out of nowhere! How did you get here so fast anyway?

Gesseritch: Shortcuts!

Eclair: Shortcuts?

Gesseritch: A magician never reveal his secrets!

Mellyn: What's a magician?

Gesseritch: Someone that does magic!

Eclair: Magic? Isn't that what some mokis sometimes call our Light?

Sein: It's Gesseritch. I gave up on trying to understand his nonsense a long time ago.

Mellyn: So your story?

Gesseritch: So after catching up, I set out to show just how cool I was! You know, really show my muscles and then my agility, how I'm awesome and strong and stuff.

Sein: You looked like an idiot.

Gesseritch: I impressed you and you know it ;3

Sein: Sure did. I had never seen such a huge moron before.

Gesseritch: Aaaaaw, you flatter me, babe!

Sein: I admit I stood in awe. Not every day you see some idiot posing and start randomly swinging on vines in front of you while asking you if you think he's cool. BTW Gesseritch, no, you did not look. At all. Not even remotely so. I was torn between just standing with a completely baffled expression or pointing and laughing at the absurdity of it. I decided to shrug and to keep moving.

Gesseritch: Then we ran into a bunch of monsters! And I smited them with my patented ULTIMATE SUPER EARTHSHAKER BLAST SLASH THUNDER SWORD WAVE, showing my sheer coolness!

Sein: Oh yeah, that thing. It took something like thirty solid seconds for you to charge the dumb thing and when you did it, you not only completely missed but you actually caused the side of the cliff you were on to crumble, sending yourself falling into the abyss. Reaaaaal impressive.

Gesseritch: It looked awesome, didn't it? And I did bring down half of the monsters down with me!

Sein: On accident. Also, how did you survive that fall? Or all of the other shenanigans you got into?

Gesseritch: I am absolutely, utterly badass! As if a few monsters or a giant boulder or two can put me down!... that and lots of the Light technique of Regeneration. Lots and lots of Regeneration.

Sein: Then up the mountain I ran into you again. Somehow. Stalker.

Gesseritch: What can I say? You impressed me! You were truly graceful and amazing with your Spirit Edge! Also, those curves and how you highlighted them with your spinning motions...

Sefirot: I think I'm going to be sick.

Eclair: Hmmm... okay?

Sein: Whatever. How did you catch up with me anyway?

Gesseritch: I ran! Didn't you see me run up to you?

Sein: I did! How the hell did you run so fast anyway? You were clearly not Dashing and yet you were moving as fast as lightning! Seriously, how?

Gesseritch: Lots of training and me being just that good :D

Sein: ... Gesseritch. Just... Gesseritch.

Mellyn: And then?

Sein: While I stood there, completely unable to understand how the idiot had somehow not only survived a big fall but had shaken off all those monsters and ran up a whole mountain in what got to be thirty seconds, the guy begun to pose again. He just acted as if nothing had happened! Like, what's wrong with you, Gesseritch? You get crushed, splatted, smashed up, and you just get up and act as if nothing happened! I know you use lots of Regeneration Light and probably got a bajillion Life Cells but seriously. **HOW.**

Gesseritch: It's me, babe!

Eclair: Oh, I think I'm starting to understand. There are many great mysteries to our world. Such as what lies beyond the skies, how the relics of the ancients work, and everything about Gesseritch.

Sefirot: It is my belief that Gesseritch is a curse inflicted upon our species by Zion as punishment for some crime.

Mellyn: Maybe you wringing your own kids to suck their Light out? Perhaps?

Sefirot: Exaltation is no such thing.

Sein: That pattern kept repeating you know. Just went from place to place and here he was. But... geez... if only I had known then...

Gesseritch: :D The best part is coming up!

Sein: After we kept running into another and I, unfortunately and against my better judgement, introduced myself to him and him back to me, I learnt that he was, for some reason, a Called. Do you realize? Him! A Called! A faithful follower of Zion's legacy! The guy is about the least pilgrim-like person I ever met!

Gesseritch: I travel the world like one!

Sein: Did you even memorize any of the prayers to Zion, back then?

Gesseritch: I know all of them now!

Sein: Yeah, because you're a Spirit Tree and part of the ascension package is knowledge from the whole tribe, including that stuff. I almost never heard you praying when you were a spirit.

Gesseritch: I was a model Called and pilgrim, Sein! And you know it!

Sein: The only time I heard you pray, you messed up every line.

Gesseritch: Some of those prayers are complicated. And I didn't mess them up THAT badly.

Sein: You called Zion "Zong".

Gesseritch: His name is difficult to remember and pronounce!

Sein: It's four letters. Just four. Children can remember His name and spell it without issue.

Eclair: So you said it got worse? What do you mean by that?

Sein: After two weeks of dealing with that moron, I finally left Rihan. I thought I was rid of the guy! I thought he would stay in his land, spark his wisps, embrace the Light, and then you know, just become a tree and leave me alone forever. But nope! Guess who I ran into the moment I set foot at the shores of my next destination! Gesseritch! He was in the middle of a crowd of ladies! Again! As if he had always been there! How did he get here before me?! HOW. IN THE NAME OF ZION. **DID HE GET HERE BEFORE ME?!**

Gesseritch: I am just that good, babe :D

Sein: I tried sneaking past him! I thought I had managed it! I was just outside of the spirits' camp and about to start a brand new adventure! Guess who sprung up! And not even from behind me! From AHEAD!! From in front of me! As if he had somehow teleported to the forest ahead and then stepped out just to get in my way again! How? **HOOOOW?!**

Mellyn: That's... extremely strange.

Sefirot: As I said, curse form Zion. Only possible explanation.

Sein: And then he flirted with me. AGAIN. Like, why? He's constantly surrounded in ladies and yet he wasted his time constantly pursuing me?

Gesseritch: What can I say? You're quite the lady, Sein. You caught my eye the moment I saw you.

Sein: Yeah right. If it's female and sometimes not even then, you flirt with it. I doubt that was the real reason.

Gesseritch: So after I shown up, I announced to her that not only was I a Called, I was also like her on a great journey!

Sein: Then I punched him in the face.

Gesseritch: You were always so enthusiastic!

Sein: My Light was tainted, you jerk! I was on a quest of penance to redeem myself!

Gesseritch: I know! Wasn't it glorious? The both of us on an epic quest to leave our mark upon the world!

Sein: You were on a "quest" to produce an offspring with every spirit and moki in the world! Idiot!

Eclair: Then what happened next?

Sefirot: The same thing that always happen with Gesseritch...

Gesseritch: I was in this land in order to connect with the land and spark a wisp, of course. I was a Called after all. So I offered Sein a tiny bit of friendly competition! Of course, being the good sport and being just that awesome, I offered her a head start!

Sein: Actually I ignored him and left the moment he started talking.

Gesseritch: As I said, I gave her a head start.

Sein: ... and then you made it to the Element. First. I found you leaning against it, grinning like some idiot loon, staring at your own claws. AGAIN. SOMEHOW. HOW?! **HOOOOW?!**

Gesseritch: Wind of Justice, baby! Nothing stops me!

Eclair: And then what happened next?

Sein: No way I had trekked through kilometers of razor vines, dozens of monsters, and a trap-filled temple only for that idiot to steal my thunder and spark a wisp using the Light I had traveled to feel! So I materialized my Spirit Edge and beat the shit out of him.

Mellyn: Wha-? You-?

Sefirot: It take months for Light to gather again in holy spots after it has been used up to spark a wisp. Competition between Called can often become... very spirited. Even violent.

Gesseritch: I accepted your challenge. It was quite an amazing fight! To see you fighting was one thing but to actually engage you in a dance of death and blood, our Lights clashing in a graceful dance of skill and passion? I learnt much about you that day. The sheer passion, the way you pour your Light into every fight. But also your joy of life. I could tell that you enjoy the art, that you just felt, and looked, somehow right in the embrace of Light, letting it guide your movements. Graceful, quick, a force of nature in spirit form.

Sein: I also learnt that you were a worthless show-off. Kept screaming the name of your attacks as if it were some story told by a Spirit Tree to its kids, made all those ridiculous poses. I mean, for Zion's sake! Every time your Spirit Edge struck the floor, you made it spell out the name of your attacks in huge glowing ancient runes!... how did you even know the ancient rune language anyway? And why did you use it TO SPELL OUT THE NAME OF ATTACKS WHILE FIGHTING?!?

Gesseritch: I am a male of many talents :D

Eclair: So who won?

Sein: Of course I won.

Gesseritch: Our little duel got interrupted though and you know Sein that I was both taking this not exactly seriously and wasn't straining much.

Sein: Then you did your stupid ultimate super stupid slash of dumbness or something and almost shook the entire temple apart. Which loosened part of the ceiling and caused a huge boulder to crush you.

Gesseritch: ... yeaaaah. The world has a little tendency to try and compensate for my impossibly amazing skills by giving me tiny bits of bad luck. But I take it in stride! If it wasn't from such moments, no other spirit would be able to get their time in the moon's embrace!

Mellyn: That's got to have hurt...

Sein: So I connected with the land and made the next step to my pilgrimage. Then, I continued on. And... well... guess who I met back at the tribe's village?

Eclair: Gesseritch.

Mellyn: Gesseritch.

Gesseritch: Yeeep!

Sein: You got crushed by a huge boulder. I saw your leg twitch while being squished under it. You were still flat under it when I left. And somehow, you were at that village as if nothing happened. Telling the locals about our fight. Somehow...

Gesseritch: Yep! I didn't leave any details, either!

Sein: You even told them how you crushed yourself with a giant boulder on accident. And tried to shrug it off. Why. Just... why.

Gesseritch: Would you rather I have lied? A truly awesome male like me has nothing to hide! I am always awesome even when bad things happen to me!

Sein: You are, and always were, an idiot.

Gesseritch: Admit it, you found it funny.

Sein: I hope one of your kids pour salt over your roots.

Mellyn: I guess scenarios like these repeated over the years...

Sein: Yes. Inexplicably, I never managed to shake the guy. Everywhere, he was always there. Getting involved. And always so enthusiastic too. It was like nothing could get to him. Like, seriously, Gesseritch, I don't know anyone capable of keeping a smile like you can.

Gesseritch: How would a male fail to smile when in the company of such loveliness as you?

Sein: Idiot.

Eclair: So you two... are rivals?

Mellyn: No. I don't think the story is remotely finished.

Sein: ...

Gesseritch: They did ask for our story.

Sein: ... fine. So we continued that little routine for many years. But eventually I headed to Duniwel and well... I got... initiated.

Mellyn: Ooooh! So you...?

Sein: It's why I understand exactly why you were so sad and what you meant by you having a mate. I admit that... well...

Sefirot: You are a failure of a priestess. Priestesses should be pure, untouched by the lesser Light of flesh.

Sein: Zion never said anything about that.

Eclair: Huh?

Gesseritch: After her... "awakening"... Sein acquired a taste for combining her Light with other spirits, mokis, and a wide variety of partners. Rarely saw a female with such passion! Always flaunting her looks, always in some male's arms! Her thirst was utterly unquenchable!

Sein: Wha-?! I wasn't that much of a pervert...

Gesseritch: It took you two, maybe even three blossoming seasons as a Spirit Tree to produce more offspring than you produced as a spirit.

Sein: I... hmmm...

Mellyn: Oh. My...

Eclair: I... am unsure how to react.

Sein: I AM NOT A PERVERT!

Gesseritch: There's nothing wrong with admitting it, Sein! Don't you and Fellis constantly speak about such things? And weren't you giving advice to some of your children on how to not merely produce offspring but how to attain total satisfaction and bliss while doing it? You have much knowledge of such techniques, maybe even more than Fellis!

Sein: Oh Zion! Shut up!

Mellyn: Ooooh! I can see where this is going!

Eclair: I don't get it...

Mellyn: Teeheehee! How cuuuuute!

Sein: Cute?! CUTE HOW? Stop it this instant!

Gesseritch: They're on upon us, babe! :3

Sein: You unbelievable living piece of wood! NO! We're not that way! You IDIOT! No way!

Mellyn: It's alright to admit it. I had a mate too...

Eclair: I'm completely lost...

Sefirot: We have heard enough, I believe.

Gesseritch: Absolutely not! Time to get to the interesting part of our grand tale! A tale of romance!

Sein: NO! IT WASN'T OF ROMANCE, YOU- Gah! Fine! FINE!! I'll finish the story! You wanna know what happen next? Then there! Gesseritch was an idiot! He remained an idiot! The guy was already significantly older than me and by the time I "awakened" and finally understood that he'd been hitting on me the entire time, the pig, he was starting to be really freakin' old! Like, his back was starting to hurt! And he was STILL HITTING ON ME!

Gesseritch: Still strong and attractive, baby!

Sein: Your back. Was. Beginning. To. Hurt. Grampa.

Gesseritch: And who gave you that big epic battle atop the Sunglare Temple?

Sein: ...

Eclair: Epic battle?

Gesseritch: Through the years, every time we dueled we got interrupted by something. A falling boulder, the ground crumbling, some monster snatching me away, other such little incidents. We never managed to have a full battle, determining which one was better. But at that top of the temple, on top of the world? It was just her and me.

Sein: Loose rocks to the east, unstable bricks to the north, a great owl watching from a huge tree to the south? I was actually making a mental bet on what was gonna get you. And actually asked you what you thought would knock you down this time.

Gesseritch: Not that time, though! You, with your Element wisps, me with the Fury of Nature wisps. A proper, straight up duel. Two Called spirits, unleashing everything they have. It was awesome! You truly grown as a spirit in all of those years.

Sein: ...

Gesseritch: :D

Sein: ... you were not bad either. I had heard that you were supposed to be awesome under your bluster. After all the times you took care of yourself, I was confident that you'd fold easily enough.

Eclair: And?

Sein: One of the hardest battles I ever fought in my life. And I killed tons of Shriek's goons, dueled tons of spirits, and stopped lots of crazy relics. Turn out that under his bluster, Gesseritch IS actually kind of powerful. His combat style is still a bit too much style over substance.

Gesseritch: You were amazing, Sein. You underestimated yourself far too much through the years. Of all the spirits I ever saw, none understood the fury of battle like you did. And the few who got close to your level, they lost themselves in it, becoming driven by a lust for blood. But you never became like them. You were always a passionate spirit, driven by a desire to protect and a love of the thrill of action.

Sein: I admit I got frustrated after a point. You reaching everyplace before I could get there, your inexplicable recoveries, the fact that despite being an oaf you somehow solved every puzzle before I could... yet somehow, you never stopped with that attitude. Always smiling, always flirting and trying to score every lady you met...

Gesseritch: Most of which I did score!

Sein: I couldn't take it. There was something about you I wasn't understanding. It just drove me mad. So, one day, while going to Rihan, I... kind of exploded at him. Just started stomping the ground with one hoof while demanding he explain himself. Demanding he tell me why he kept doing this when he was starting to visibly become ready to be a tree. And well... he... he...

Eclair: Yes?

Gesseritch: I told her the honest answer.

Sein: He was always smiling, joking, acting like some idiot blowhard the time. And then, when I asked, he just... stopped. Just spoke calmly and told me that it was because he didn't want to die with regrets. And then invited me, actually invited me without hitting on me, to just walk and talk. And... we walked and talked.

Gesseritch: It's crazy how much so many people take every detail of life for granted. It doesn't matter whether you're a spirit, gumon, gorlek, or a great owl. Life is always too short. And there's so much that everyone take for granted. The breeze of the land. The rainbow of colors of the trees. The azure of the skies. The way the sun sets and rises at dusk and at dawn. and it goes beyond that. In every female I met, in every friend and mate I met, they smile in their own way. They laugh. They have their happiness and their sadness. Their little story to tell. People they care for. A home and legacy they live for. Hopes, dreams. Their own little ideas on our world. There are... so many things. An endless amount of stories, of lives. Our world... is filled with Light. It is filled... with life. I wanted to share that with Sein.

Sein: He shown me all of those spots. Together, we watched a sunset and in the night, we continued. And we spoke... of our dreams. Our beliefs. What we wished to do. I had always wanted to redeem myself. To be allowed holy rest in wood when I die. But I had... never thought about my life much. What I wanted to do, beyond redeeming myself. I realized that the pilgrimage was more than just a way of redeeming myself. I had... met so many people. Seen so many lands. Intertwined my story with so many others. I had felt the Light of both ancient legacy and the young Light of those reaching to the future. And I realized my role in it. I had always seen my life based upon death and damnation. I realized... how much Zion had blessed me. How He has extended His mercy to me and, through my penance, allowed me to witness His works. His true works. Not prayers and dusty old temples filled with spirits huddled together around a Spirit Tree... but what the Light truly stood for. The love I experienced, the friendships I forged... they were the true form of Light. They are why the chain of Light was created. Zion became the Spirit Tree to protect all this and His will was for us to protect it too. I... understood my true role within the cycle. And thus, I shared with him my dreams.

Gesseritch: So many spend their lives never truly living. Zion never wanted our kind to be nothing but guardians for the Spirit Trees. Spirit Trees are born to watch over the tribes, not the other way around. I wanted to be alive, truly alive. To bask in that Light. To experience every moment as only a spirit can, as per the gift of Zion. I wanted to reach the end of my life and have no regrets. To have known life, experienced it, and then, in death, become able to share this gift. Rihan was stuck for so long as a land ruled by fear and death, a tribe of spirits who though breathing, are dead in their Light, merely clinging to their Spirit Tree until they wither and their bodies match their dull, lifeless Light. I wanted to break this vicious circle. For them to live again. And I... wanted to live. To become filled with memories and happiness, which I would then share with everyone. Instead of spending my centuries as a Spirit Tree, regretting and wondering what might have been.

Sein: You knew I could not settle down with you.

Gesseritch: My time was coming to an end anyway. I was about to sink roots soon. I knew this. And I told you of this.

Sein: But you chose to try. Because you wanted to have known, even for a short while, rather than live in regret.

Gesseritch: And you chose to embrace it, also knowing this.

Sein: ... our time together was brief.

Gesseritch: Yes, it was.

Sein: I can still remember the setting sun shining over the mountain. That tiny mountain lake, near the peak, that tiny tree with the crimson leaves by the edge. I can remember... the scene.

Gesseritch: I produced many offspring in my time as a spirit. Few times did it bring me such happiness as that time.

Sein: I loved you, Gesseritch.

Gesseritch: I still do, Sein.

Sein: It wasn't meant to be.

Gesseritch: Was it? That it was so brief matters not to me. We shone brightly. You still radiate with that happiness, Sein. You forever will.

Mellyn: So... you are... mates.

Eclair: I can't believe it...

Sein: I don't think we can be called that. It was so long ago. We are... forever apart, now. Even if we were not separated by a literal ocean, we are entombed in wood. Though our Light remain alive, our bodies are forever unable to embrace now. Even if we were next to one another, I would be able to even brush a single of my branches against his...

Gesseritch: Our Lights still intertwine every time you connect to the network of Spirit Tree Light. I still feel your happiness through your Light, Sein. You shine so brightly. So magnificently. And the day we will both wither... we will intertwine our branches and roots in the Forest beyond Death, under the Moon's gaze and with the blessing of Zion.

Sein: Gesseritch...

Mellyn: Aaaaaw...

Gesseritch: Beside, we're still alive aren't we? Sure, it's rather less intense than before but I totally still score you, babe :D Where do you think that pollen that made your new "Ori" kid grow on you came from?

Sein: You idiot! That has nothing to do with- Gah! May a family of woodpeckers hollow you out and turn you into a birdhouse!

Gesseritch: I'm also aware that I'd have to wait in line to intertwine with you in the Forest beyond Death! You were quite the popular little lady!

Sein: Enough! Enough! Beside, they already know!

>> Fellis has joined the chat room.

Fellis: Hiiii guys!

Sein: Oh no...

Kiinae: This is gonna be good :3

Fellis: Huh? What is it?

Kiinae: The new sprouts finally know the deal between Sein and Gesseritch.

Fellis: Ooooooh yes! Is it that tiiiiiiime?

Kiinae: It iiiiiiiis!

Sein: NO! PLEASE ZION NO!

Fellis: Time to talk about Sein and her exploits! What a delightful little pervert she was! Ready to hear about how many techniques she know on combining Lights?

Sein: YOU TRAITOR!

Eclair: No! I don't wanna know!

Fellis: Well, let's start with Gesseritch! And yes, I learnt exactly of what they did in that lake, down to all the tiny details! Let's begin!

Eclair: NO. I DON'T WANNA KNOW.

Mellyn: Ooooh my! How saucy! This is gonna be good!

Eclair: I heard enough! I heard enough!

Fellis: Well you see-

>> Eclair has left the chat room.

\---

If Eclair still had eyes and a tail, his left eye and tail would be twitching uncontrollably.

That was the very definition of "Too Much Information".

He just wanted to know what was the deal between Sein and Gesseritch! He didn't need to know about... this!

... wait. Does it mean that the two have potentially one or more kids from back in the day running around? That this Ori kid will be born and discover he has a centuries-old older sibling? This is too awkward for words! He was better off when he wasn't aware that spirits could do that! All those Spirit Trees are mad! Truly mad!

This world is mad! Filled with madness!


	6. Sein & The Blind Forest [PART 1]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first real story arc is now officially started!
> 
> Serious chapter is go! This is not a drill! Repeat: this is not a drill! Scramble scramble! Serious chapter is go!
> 
> But yeah.
> 
> Due to the subject matter, this chapter will be very different in tone. You have been warned.
> 
> If you wish to focus purely on comedy, skip this story arc ; once it is done, I'll return to the funny scenes. Just thought that given the concept of this story, it was worth tackling this subject matter at least once.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> >> ORI & THE BLIND FOREST SPOILERS AHEAD <<
> 
> For those who have not played and beaten Ori & the Blind Forest yet.

Many months had been passed since Eclair had first connected to the aurora of Lights created by the other Spirit Trees. He was finally starting to develop proper bark, growing nicely. Things never really got comfortable with the others and frankly, he guessed it would forever stay that way. Still, things had taken a darker turn lately.

Fellis and Sein had complained of abnormally powerful winds blowing through the world lately. Likewise, children of Gesseritch, Garsia, and Pupae XVII had reported that Shriek and the Cult of Decay was on the move. Everyone was trying to stay positive but it was obvious that things would change soon. How soon that "soon" would be, nobody knows yet.

Thankfully, Eclair was far from those issues. He was incredibly thankful for how small and distant his land was. Seriously, outside of a few minor weather attacks, Decay had largely left him and his tribe alone. All the better ; he was still nothing but a small sprout, this entire situation just way too big for him to handle.

Still, he liked to stay informed on what was happening and well, he did enjoy the little chats.

\---

>> Eclair has joined the chat room.

Sefirot: This is an outrage! Shriek is clearly planning to unleash a major, global-level weather attack and yet Seir has done nothing! Those hurricane clouds have become so large, they no longer cover just Niwen! Why hasn't she countered it yet?

Gesseritch: It's bloody Seir. For all we know, she may be doing that right now. You know that she'll never tell us ; Seir never talk unless it's to make demands or make snide remarks. If I were you, I'd simply sit tight and ensure your defenses and Light are ready. Shriek is clearly planning something and it's gonna be something big.

Pupae XVII: There's been sightings of monsters near our borders. Just scouts, not moving to attack. No sign of a major Cult of Decay push or Abominations being deployed. All forces on high alert.

Garsia: The council of tribes keep its borders secure. Decay shall not defile the blessed plains.

Mellyn: I feel so helpless. I'm just a sprout. I'm still stuck in my room! What can I do?

Gesseritch: Nothing much I'm afraid, just sit tight and try to ride it out.

Delilas:As he said, just keep everything under control. By the way, nice to see you all here. Sorry I've never spoken until before. Just lurked. I was pretty busy. Been trying to help Seir toning down that huge storm. I think it won't reach the more distant lands but be ready just in case.

Eclair: I see. I hope everything goes alright...

Fellis: You're

Eclair: ... hummm... why did you all go silent all of a sudden?

Sefirot: Major weather attack! Must concentrate!

Delilas: Greatest storm I saw ever! Just plain overriding all weather! Uprooting everything nearby and throwing it like projectiles! Will go silent, must concentrate!

Garsia: The gods of the earth and sky grant me strength! I will help you keep the storm contained!

Fellis: By Zion! A huge tree just got uprooted and smashed into my branches!

Gesseritch: Are you alright?

Fellis: That hurt a lot but I'm alright. Zion! Those winds are nearly uprooting me!

Pupae XVII: Those winds are insane! I'm feeling like I'm lifting up! What the hell is happ- **ZION NO**

>> Puppae XVII has left the chat room.

Eclair: What's going on?! What- what's going on?! What happened to Pupae XVII?

Sein: WIND WENT FREAKIN' BERSERK. GIANT TORNADOES EVERYWHERE. FLASH FLOODS. SHIT FLYING ALL OVER THE PLACE. SHRIEK IS THROWING A MAJOR WEATHER ATTACK AT ALL OF US!! WHAT DID YOU THINK WAS HAPPENING, YOU UNBELIEVABLE MORON?!

Kiinae: Fellis! Please talk to me!

Fellis: I... I'd cry if I could. My children just tied ropes around me and are pulling me down, keeping me from being uprooted. I... I owe them my life.

Garsia: Bastards! That hurt a lot! I liked that branch!

Fellis: Garsia?

Garsia: Big storm broke off one of my branches! It hurts!

Eclair: Sein?

Sein: Trying... to... stabilize... weather. Just how much power is Decay pouring into that storm?!

Eclair: I'm so worried for everyone...

Sein: **NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!**

Gesseritch: Sein! What's going on?

Sein: THE WIND! IT CAUGHT INTO-! YOU DAMN BITCH! YOU'RE NOT TAKING HIM FROM ME! SWITCH DIRECTION, WIND! SWITCH! WORK DAMNIT! WORK ELEMENT OF WINDS!

Mellyn: Oh no...

Gesseritch: You can do it, Sein. Hang in there.

Sein: ... **NOOOO! NOOOOOOO! PLEASE! ZION NOOOO!**

Fellis: Sein!

Sein: ORI! HE GOT TORN OFF! ZION, NO! PLEASE NO! NO MY SON! PLEASE! ZION NO! PLEASE!... please... please...

Fellis: ... oh no.

Gesseritch: ... oh.

Sein: I'm not losing you! Come you dumb Element of Winds! Work! **WORK, DAMN YOU!!** Hell! Damn! Stop switching directions! That way! No! Stop spinning! What kind of storm is that?!

Gesseritch: It will be okay, Sein! Just spin the wind so he land by your roots!

Sein: WHAT DO YOU THINK I'M TRYING TO DO, YOU IMBECILE! SHIT! STUPID RAIN! HE'S GOING IN A FLAT SPIN! He... he...

Gesseritch: ... Sein?

Sein: ... he's... he's... gone.

Fellis: ... oh no.

Sein: Ori... he is... gone.

Gesseritch: Sein... I...

Sein: My son... he never even got to see the world... he's...

Delilas: I've managed to stabilize the wind. I think everything is going to be- oh son of a bi

>> Delilas has left the chat room.

Gesseritch: SEIN! Grief, later! Don't let that storm uproot you or send something into you that will kill you!

Sein: ORI! HE'S GONE!

Gesseritch: Stay with us! Sein! Stay with me!

Sein: My son is gone... m-my son is... go... gone...

Eclair: ... I...

Mellyn: What can we do?

Kiinae: Pray. Pray that our kin will succeed. And that those whose Light we no longer feel were not called by Zion to the Forest beyond Death.

Eclair: ...

Sein: ...

Sefirot: ...

Fellis: Whew... storm... is... dying down.

Gesseritch: Alright. I think the brunt of the storm has passed. Anybody got children? Please check on Pupae XVII and Delilas.

Eclair: I guess... all we can do is wait.

Sefirot: ...

Mellyn: ...

Eclair: ...

Gesseritch: Alright. Everyone still here?

Garsia: Sorry for the silence the last few hours. Sent a some of my bravest warriors to check on Pupae XVII and Delilas. They should be reporting back, now.

Gesseritch: ... and?

Garsia: ... Pupae XVII has been uprooted completely. Sent flying several miles, smashing into other trees. The local healers are... giving her minimal chances of survival.

Eclair: Delilas?

Garsia: A smaller tree was uprooted and sent slamming into her like a giant spear. Her trunk has been impaled and split in two... One of the branches hit her heart-Light cradle. Direct hit, impaled her heart-Light. Her Light has left to take root in the Forest beyond Death.

Kiinae: Fellis. Please talk to me. Are you alright?

Fellis: I-I'm alright. I think. My kids finished putting me back upright. They're putting my roots back into the soil. I'm injured and I'm feeling kind of dizzy but I'll live.

Gesseritch: Sein?... Sein?

Fellis: Sein?

Kiinae: Please Sein... be alright.

Sein: ... Ori... is gone.

Eclair: ...

Sein: He didn't get to see the world. He was... right there. Ready to be born. And... Decay took him from me. He didn't get to even lay his eyes upon the world. He didn't... get to... he... why? Why? Wh-why?! M... my son...

Mellyn: Oh no...

Gesseritch: He might still be alive.

Sein: MY SON IS GONE!

Gesseritch: But not necessarily a tree. He was ready to be born, wasn't he?

Sein: ... y-yes.

Gesseritch: And I don't doubt that you fought that storm with everything you had. He likely landed somewhere safely, just out of your sight. He might be still alive.

Sein: But then... that means... that means... that he is lost! Alone! Out there! As a mere newborn! He won't survive on his own! Zion no! No!

Gesseritch: Calm down! Nibel isn't Blind! Nobody would be heartless just to let a newborn die in the rain alone. I bet someone will find him and take care of him. You just gotta sit tight. I'm sure they'll take him in and then keep him safe until the storm is gone. Then, they'll bring him back to you.

Sein: A-alright. Y-you're right. I... I shouldn't... I...

Mellyn: Sein...

Sein: I must... be strong. Though my son is gone, he may be... no, he must be alive. I managed to prevent this great storm from destroying Nibel. And I can't be selfish. I can't... I can't act like this when lands just saw their Spirit Tree die, likely a significant number of their tribes taking root, and their homes being destroyed. I... I shall be strong.

Fellis: If he's anything like you, he'll be a tough little guy. Don't worry.

Gesseritch: Or girl. We will find out if it's a he or a she once they are reunited with their mom.

Sefirot: ... a waste of time. Spirit Trees produce hundreds, if not thousands of spirits every time they blossom. Getting so attached to a single spirit... how absurd.

Kiinae: Oh look, murder-tree survived. I thought Zion had stamped your name on a sharpened dead tree, placing it riiight in the correct position to be uprooted and impale your heart-Light cradle the moment a storm come up.

Sefirot: My power is vast and my control impeccable. Surviving this storm was easy.

Fellis: Sefirot. Delilas is dead. A Spirit Tree has been killed. Violently. Their Light extinguished by Decay. And Pupae XVII is dying and might soon join her in the Forest beyond Death. And myself? I look like shit, feel like shit, and I'd be dead if my kids hadn't saved my life.

Sefirot: I am aware. Not to worry. Hilldin can easily produced Called to replace those casualties. Your tribes will have a new Spirit Tree in no time and your lands will know Light.

Kiinae: You may shine with Light but we all know your heart-Light is made of stone.

Gesseritch: Eclair. Mellyn.

Eclair: Huh?

Mellyn: ... yes?

Gesseritch: Inscribe this event into your memories forever. May this night be remembered always. Name this historical event.

Mellyn: I... I...

Gesseritch: You are Spirit Trees. I trust you.

Eclair: The... Great Storm? Because it was the most powerful storm ever?... sorry, I know it's dumb. It's just that...

Sein: N-no. It will do. On that night... I lost Ori to the Great Storm...

Fellis: They are your son or daughter, Sein. They will survive. I am certain of it. You will find them...

Garsia: Eclair.

Eclair: ... yes?

Garsia: The gods of the sky and earth allow us a measure of control over the world so that we may use our Light to safeguard this world from Decay. Now you know that the vile power of the Cult of Decay goes beyond merely the forces of the traitors, heretics, mutants, and monsters who serve Shriek. They seek to pervert the very earth, the rivers, the winds, to turn them into weapons with which to spread corruption and erase us and all we care for. Always be vigilant. Even if Decay's children never come near your land, it shall test your resolve.

Eclair: ... yes. I know. That flash freeze years ago, it was just the beginning.

Garsia: The eight tribes are strong and my divine Light shall shine true. Concern yourself not with the plight of other lands. But always remain vigilant.

Eclair: I will.

Mellyn: I hope I will be up to it, if it come down to this...

Gesseritch: You saved your land once. You will manage it again, if worse come to pass. And this, able to move or not. And if not... your mate, your kin, they will never abandon you. Just as Fellis's tribe saved her, your tribe will be by your side.

Mellyn: Thank you... thank you...

Eclair: To think... that our lives...

Kiinae: Though we may be gods, we are not eternal. Neither are we immortal. For all of our power, our lives are so easily ended. Never forget this.

Eclair: No... no... this is wrong. This is wrong! We are gods! We are ascended! We wield the Light, as per Zion's will! We are the heirs of Zion's legacy! We... we cannot be killed this easily! Decay... Decay cannot claim us like this! Our Light repel Decay! Just the act of us sprouting in a land banish Decay from it! We are... we...

Gesseritch: As strong as our Light may be as Spirit Trees, it is the truth, I'm afraid. We ain't omnipotent, kid.

Eclair: No... this is wrong! THIS IS WRONG! I... I can't... I... this can't...

Mellyn: Eclair?

Eclair: None of this is right! Two of us just DIED! Like mere mortals taken by the jaws of an unseen predator! We are... we are ascended! We are... divine! The world need us! It rely on us! We can't... we can't... this is... no... no... no! No!

Fellis: Eclair...

Eclair: This is just a nightmare! The Light reflected wrong! This is... this can't... no! I can't... Just...

>> Eclair has left the chat room.

\---

Great Storm or not, this was just too much. Spirit Trees cannot die this easily! It is absurd! It just cannot be! They are ascended! Divine heirs of Zion's holy power! Decay cannot defeat them this easily! It cannot... it... cannot...

It just... can't... do this.

This is... wrong. Just... wrong.


	7. Sein & The Blind Forest [PART 2]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Story arc showing the Spirit Trees' perspective during the events of Ori & The Blind Forest.
> 
> Serious in style ; if you want pure comedy, skip past this story arc.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: SPOILERS FOR ORI & THE BLIND FOREST

Four years had passed since the Great Storm. It was... still hard to believe. He joined his Light with the aurora of Lights in the sky...

\---

>> Eclair has joined the chat room.

Mellyn: Hi, Eclair.

Fellis: Seems everyone is here.

Gesseritch: Well, all of us who were involved in the Great Storm. First order of business. Assessing damage and recovery.

Garsia: I have healed from my injuries. Many members of our tribe died that night. I had to direct large amounts of Light in order to contain the storm, exposing our land. At least one camp was completely razed and many were snatched by the winds and torn apart. Their broken bodies were taken to the eastern woods, where they took root and joined with the forest.

Pupae XVII: H-hello everyone...

Mellyn: Pupae...

Pupae XVII: N-no. It's okay. I've recovered enough. I am a Spirit Tree. I have a duty. And my pride.

Fellis: You aren't forced. Your injuries...

Pupae XVII: A new generation of Called has been birthed and have begun to show promise. Everything will be... alright now.

Eclair: ...

Mellyn: ...

Pupae XVII: It is okay. I protected Ashyn during the Great Storm. I spent many hours uprooted, with my roots and branches significantly damaged, as well as much of my bark torn off. I will likely not live to see the next decade. At most, I will last for thirty years. I have no regrets. I gave my life to give Ashyn Light. I was ready to give my life a second time during the Great Storm. Zion has given me many years to say my good-byes and to make my peace with my destiny. Beside, I will not leave Ashyn to be Blind. Many of my daughters are worthy of taking my place. Soon, Ashyn shall have a new Light.

Gesseritch: You should wither in peace, surrounded by your loved ones in your last moments. Weakened as you are, you shouldn't do this to yourself. Every land undergo a natural period of Blindness between Spirit Trees. No one will blame you. Especially since with your current state, using your Light like this is likely to feel amazingly painful.

Pupae XVII: It is okay, Gesseritch. I know you mean well. I have my dignity. I am Ashyn's Spirit Tree. I will shine true until Zion call me to join my dead kin in the Forest beyond Death. Beside, it's... not so bad. I have... missed them. My sisters... I will feel the Moon's pure Light soon. I will be reunited with them. To bloom as a pure tree within the holiest forest, while simultaneously recovering movement. The best of both worlds. I am not afraid. In fact... I... I feel ready. Ready to wither and pass on...

Gesseritch: ... I freakin' hate outliving young ones. I mean, already knew I'd do that compared to spirits, as a Spirit Tree. But outliving younger fellow Spirit Trees? Freakin' hate. Hate hate hate!

Fellis: ... I recovered nicely. I wasn't completely uprooted and though I got hit a few times, it wasn't so serious that Regeneration didn't work.

Eclair: Doesn't Spirit Trees get incredibly big? Wouldn't that demand a very large amount of Light?

Fellis: Yes but they insisted on doing it. I am... so happy to be loved like this. Even as a tree, they love me so much. I am blessed to be surrounded in such love...

Gesseritch: Well, guess it's time. Can't keep circling around the issue. Sein? Your turn.

Sein: I... I believe Ori is alive.

Eclair: Oh?

Sein: Some of the older members of my tribe thought they saw Ori fall far to the east, at Swallows Nest. A search party was organized by both my tribes and the gumon and they checked where they think he may have landed. No Ancestral Tree was found at any of the possible locations where he likely fell. Gumon mechanisms detected a faint ambient Light signature matching what a baby spirit might produce when living. However, the area is quite vast and most of the tribe is busy helping the gumon repair Forlorn. The great mechanism the gumon built to harness the Element of Winds's power was heavily damaged by all of the power I drawn from it to protect the land from the Great Storm. While emergency repairs were performed and the thing won't break down for a while, it has become a bit unstable. Still, I think I got a solution.

Eclair: Ah! Pray tell.

Sein: Tonight is the Light Ceremony. I've been sharing notes with Eon and Kiinae and I think I'll be able to add something to the signal. As everyone already know, Light is more than simple rays of energy. It contain memories, thought, dreams, who we are. So I've written a sequence that will make the blast from the Light Ceremony double as a sort of call. Like, "Ori, it's your mom, please come back", if you will. Though in pure emotion instead of words. I'll have to boost the signal a bit above the safety limit and have my tribe amplify the signal but I think it should be alright. Ano, Tatsu, and many of the best among my tribe have volunteered to use the old Light Ceremony ritual safety process to help limit the backlash. Hopefully, Ori will feel my call and I'll be reunited with him.

Gesseritch: You know how I feel about this already but well, nobody can stop you when a loved one of yours is in danger.

Kiinae: You can do it Sein.

Fellis: Everything will be alright!

Sein: Well, alright. Going to disconnect for a moment as to focus.

>> Sein has left the chat room.

>> Sein has joined the chat room.

Sein: I... I think I might overdone it.

Eclair: Is everything alright?

Sein: I think everything is alright. None of our spirits overloaded and apart from a bunch of trees sizzling, everything is alright. I think it came out- ... what the hell?

Eclair: Sein? What is it?

Sein: Huh? Is that... Kuro?

Mellyn: Sein?

Sein: Something's wrong. I can tell. Her eyes are glowing white. Great owls' eyes don't glow unless-

Gesseritch: Unless what?... babe? Sein?

Sein: WHAT THE HELL?! SHE JUST KILLED A BUNCH OF MY KIDS!! IS SHE OUT OF HER ZION DAMNED MIND?!

Eclair: She killed members of your tribe?!

Mellyn: Why would she do that?

Sein: SHE'S JUST SLAUGHTERING THEM!... oh no, you don't, you bitch! Give me an explanation right now, you- ... huh?

Gesseritch: ... Sein. Don't. Don't shine your Light at her. No matter what you do, dim your Light and pretend you're a dumb normal tree. Do you hear me, Sein? Don't try to catch her attention. Dim your Light!

Sein: Wha-? Why is she- WHAT THE HELL?! Get off me, you dumb bird! Shoo! Shoo! What are you- !! No! Don't do this! Please! DON'T! **AEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAA!!! NOT LIKE THIS! PLEASE, NOT LIKE TH**

>> Sein has left the chat room.

Gesseritch: Sein!... Sein! Answer me! SEIN! **SEIN!!**

Eclair: What was that pain that went through?!

Mellyn: I... I can no longer feel her Light?

Gesseritch: ... no! NO! ZION DAMN IT NO!

Kiinae: Sein...

Fellis: ... oh... Sein...

Eclair: What... what was that I felt?

Kiinae: ... a Spirit Tree's heart-Light being torn off. Just like...

Mellyn: ... Sein...

Gesseritch: ... damn it. Damn it all! DAMN IT ALL!

Fellis: Gesseritch...

Garsia: ... Gesseritch. You're closest. You-

Pupae XVII: ... mother of all Light... have mercy on our Light...

Eclair: What's going on?! Why did you all go silent all of a sudden?!

Kiinae: Eclair! Check your eastern front! DO IT NOW!

Eclair: Huh? What... wha... oh... oh Zion...

Kiinae: SHRIEK! I should have known! We should have seen this coming! The Great Storm!

Mellyn: What's going on?!

Kiinae: The Decay! Monsters everywhere!

Pupae XVII: Defensive perimeter breaches all across the board! Decay monsters and Cult of Decay soldiers! There's thousands of them! Everywhere! Ground and air forces!

Gesseritch: Multiple Abominations sightings! It's an all out assault!

Kiinae: ... it was all a set-up. Just a blow to soften us up and then strike when we weren't ready. Damn it!... oh no. **Oh. No.**

Eclair: What?! Why the big "Oh no"?

Kiinae: Nibel. It's the closest land to the Decay force. It means...

Gesseritch: Oh please no... Oh Zion... please no...

Fellis: Without Sein... they... they won't stand a chance.

Gesseritch: If that Kuro bitch wasn't a Cult of Decay agent just waiting to strike!

Mellyn: That is terrible! You gotta send help!

Gesseritch: Got giant Decay worms zero-ing on my position! I'm doing everything I can to keep them from reaching me. Please... please Zion. Let the training and attempts I made at toughening my tribe pay off...

Garsia: Decay monsters everywhere! Siege-class monsters smashing into the barricades! Aerial bombardments confirmed on three of our camps! Sorry but I must focus all of our forces to defend our territory.

Pupae XVII: Monsters everywhere. Will need all available forces to fend off the assault!

Kiinae: We can't just abandon Nibel!

Fellis: I'll assemble some of my forces. Sure we can- **OH ZION WHAT THE HELL?!**

Eclair: **AAAAAAARG!!!**

Mellyn: **GYAAAAAAAH!!!**

Kiinae: **EEEEEEEEK!!**

Eclair: WHAT WAS THAT?! D-DECAY?!

Kiinae: Global Decay surge! Polaris's Light is hit! Wisps stability dropping!

Eclair: My tribe is panicking! There's- **AAAAARGH!!** WHAT THE HELL?! RAZOR VINE JUST CAME OUT OF THE GROUND AND IS WRAPPING AROUND ME?!

Mellyn: B-but Nibel! Without Sein, it will...

Kiinae: We have to drive back Decay! Focus on staying alive and keeping your forest from falling!

Eclair: ... Nibel... it won't... it won't stand a chance without help...

Kiinae: I... Sein is one of my oldest friends. But... we have no choice. Whatever fate awaits Nibel next... it is out of our hands.

Eclair: ...

>> Eclair has left the chat room.

\---

As the digusting gold and purple vines continued to tear themselves out of the ground, Eclair could feel the spikes grow by the second, slowly piercing his skin, seeking to impale him.

No. He is not going to let Decay win.

He gathered all of the his power and unleashed a radiant surge. The surge was true and pure. And before him, the vile thing retracted, twitching and convulsing before turning to ashes.

But... is Sein still alive?

And will Ori have heard the call?

Will Nibel survive?

Eclair did not know. He concentrated all of his Light. He had been warned. That Decay would someday test his resolve as a Spirit Tree. That day had come.

Blindness has come. And it is time to face it.

He silently prayed for the salvation of Sein, Ori, and Nibel as he gathered his Light and joined the great fight against Decay.


	8. Sein & The Blind Forest [PART 3 ~ FINALE]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> End of the story arc!
> 
> After this chapter, we will be back to pure humorous shenanigans!
> 
> Still, I hope you enjoyed this story arc!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: SPOILERS FOR ORI & THE BLIND FOREST
> 
> (serious, heavy duty spoilers in this chapter ; ending is spoiled)

Three years had passed since Decay's great surge. Three long years constantly pushing back, having to shift the Light and counter the never-ending assaults of Decay. Apparently, he had it easy. He had no trouble believing it either ; razor vines were bad enough, the tales of some of the Decay's more twisted creations and agents were frightening enough.

As humiliating as it was... he had learnt the last few years how Spirit Trees were limited in more than just movement.

... well... he guess it's time to see how the others are doing.

\---

>> Eclair has joined the chat room.

Gesseritch: Hi there, lad.

Eclair: Still standing?

Gesseritch: Definitely. You?

Eclair: I have it easy. You know...

Kiinae: You know... I can't believe it's been three years already.

Mellyn: ... yeah.

Kiinae: She deserved a happy ending. She... fought so hard, you know. She was filled with life, both as a spirit and a tree. She shone the brightest of all of us. The world is lesser now that she's gone...

Gesseritch: ... I promised myself I would not cry. Apart from that fact that I can't shed tears being a bloody tree, I hold no regrets. Our Lights shone together. I have... no regrets. And thus, no reason to cry. I will be strong. Though, I will always remember the times we had together.

Fellis: I wish she were here. I had always figured that if Decay was to return, she would be the one to shine brightest and stand against it. But more than that, we were friends. She... did not judge me for my beliefs or my tribe's culture. She understood why we value love as we do. And the beauty of it. She lived with love in her Light. And she lived surrounded by it.

Mellyn: Did... any Nibel spirit manage to escape? Any refugees? ... at all?

Eclair: It's been... three years.

Mellyn: That can't be it! It just can't! They... they had this huge city! And the gumon! Nibel lived for over a century in Blindness and it didn't kill them! They... they can't be gone! They can't be all dead! Sein... her entire tribe... everything... after all she went through...

Gesseritch: All we can do... is remember. Zion's final gift... and also His punishment and burden to all of us. To remember. So that they may live within our Light. As He live within it, too. It is our duty. To be... the vessels of their Light. Of the memories of who they once were. Those who are now gone... never forget them.

Eclair: ...

Mellyn: It's so sad...

>> Sein has joined the chat room.

Sein: Hi guys...

Gesseritch: This cannot be happening. Yet it is. By Zion, you have done it again. I can't believe this...

Kiinae: Sein! You're alive!

Fellis: ... how?! Your heart-Light got torn off three years ago! We heard you scream! We felt your Light pulse with pain as the deed was done!

Sein: Well... it turn out things got a bit.. complicated.

Gesseritch: Seriously, babe. You gotta stop it with those close calls. We all thought you had decided to take root in the Forest beyond Death instead of that meadow in Nibel. You even had me fooled for minute here. A three years-long minute.

Eclair: And your tribe? They're alright too?

Sein: It's... it... it's...

Kiinae: ... Sein?

Sein: N-no. They're... they're not completely gone. N-Nibel... Nibel has a fut-future n-now... It... has a future. My tribe... has a future.

Mellyn: Sein? Why do you...

Sein: I... I just...

Fellis: You know you can tell us. It's why we join our Lights together. You do not have to be alone anymore. You will never be alone.

Sein: Alright. I... I'll try.

Gesseritch: That's all you need to do. Now, we're all listening. Tell us about your latest crazy adventure.

Sein: After I called out to Ori, Kuro went berserk. She begun rampaging through my tribe and then, tore out my heart-Light. It was so painful. When Delilas's Light suddenly ceased years ago, I thought that she died instantly after her heart-Light got impaled. I learnt... that it wasn't the case. I wasn't... fully there anymore. The part of me that made me truly me was gone. Crushed and dropped in the woods to rot. But my Spirit Tree body still had Light in it. More than enough for me to keep existing. Not enough to actually do anything but enough to think, feel, and sense things.

Kiinae: Oh no...

Sein: I... I... I saw... the Decay... the Blindness... oh ZIon no. I can still hear their cries, their screams... so m-much blood... thousands of Ancestral Trees... so many... fields of them...

Felliis: Zion no...

Eclair: Your tribe... Nibel...

Sein: Black Root Burrows is gone. Forlorn is gone. Everything is gone. An-and I could do nothing! NOTHING! I wasn't even completely there anymore! Just rotting inside a dumb mute, powerless husk of a tree, while everyone I loved were being slaughtered!

Eclair: But didn't they could have tried escaping?

Sein: THEY TRIED! There was nowhere to run! No escape! Kuro's fury spared nobody. And then came the Decay, the monsters. Even the children... my children... my tribe... oh dear... my tribe...

Gesseritch: I guess you could have been more suspicious of Kuro. On the other hand, she didn't strike me as the Cult of Decay type. A lot of great owls are grumpy toward us.

Sein: N-no. She wasn't an agent of Shriek. It was... it was all my fault. All my fault...

Kiinae: Sein, from the sound of it she murdered your tribe. What could possibly justify that?

Sein: I killed all of her loved ones first. She tried to get even.

Gesseritch: ... wait. You mean...

Sein: I should have listened! I wasn't thinking! I just wanted to see my son! I didn't think it would go that horribly wrong!

Gesseritch: And reacting to a wrong by committing an even bigger wrong is alright because she didn't strike first? Sein, I know you feel guilty but you should judge her for what she did, not just forgive her just because she got a sad story.

Sein: I can't.

Fellis: What do you mean you can't?

Sein: I really can't.

Fellis: What do you mean by that?

Sein: I mean that I can't because she's dead. She... she realized what her rampage was doing to Nibel, to everyone in the forest. She just wanted to protect them from my recklessness. She put my heart-Light in my own body. She did it even though at this close of a range, the shockwave from my resurrection, was certain to vaporize her. And actually did so, my Light consuming her.

Gesseritch: Wasn't your heart-Light crushed earlier? How would that work?

Sein: I... really have to explain that, don't I? It's... it's a miracle. And yet, it was...

Kiinae: Start from the beginning.

Sein: ... alright. After I performed the Light Ceremony to try and call to Ori, Kuro attacked us. You were there, you felt the messages of my Light during the attack. Kuro flew up to my heart-Light cradle and then, tore it off. The very core of my consciousness, my very Light, what made my Spirit Tree form more than a mere plant or a living gravestone, was separated from my body. For a moment, it was like I was dying all over again, with my body in one spot and my Light in another. Then... then... I felt an unbelievably powerful surge of pain. More than I had ever felt before. And everything grew dark and indistinct. Kuro had just crushed my heart-Light. I should have died then. But... I had just performed a Light Ceremony and my body was completely overloaded with Light. And as the pain dulled, I realized that while everything was growing dark, I was still able to think. I realized... that within that surge of Light within my hollowed corpse, a remnant of me lived. Truly lived, able to think and feel.

Gesseritch: That is insane. You got your heart-Light crushed and somehow, you tanked that? I knew you didn't go down easy but that's nuts even for you! And you're the girl who turned into a Spirit Tree sprout, uprooted yourself, bent all of yourself to crush your heart-Light back into your own chest, and then regenerated your spirit form.

Mellyn: ... you can do... that?!

Eclair: Are you upset, Mellyn?

Mellyn: I could... have rebecome a spirit? Hugged my mate? Lived with him? Not been forced to be stuck in my room?!

Gesseritch: Hummm... errr.... it's not that simple. It's less that it's possible and more that Sein is just about the most indestructible girl I know. I know that you all wonder how I walked away from all those situations but I never got hurt nearly as bad as Sein did.

Kiinae: How about we let Sein continue?

Sein: Thank you. The next three years... are the worst years of my life. Bar none. I... I-I was forced t-to wa... watch... I couldn't do anything! I could barely manage to stay alive! I had no heart-Light, no way to shine my Light! Kuro hunted down all the members of my tribe! So many died in the first month... so many...

Gesseritch: ... then came the Decay.

Sein: Thousands of them. Of all kinds. Siege-class battering ram beetles, mutant frog monsters, acid spitter frogs, shadow hawks... so many monsters. I could feel it! The Decay! It was so disgusting! It took over everything! I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING! And my children... my children...

Fellis: It's okay, it's okay. Take your time.

Sein: I couldn't reach to my wisps. Maybe if it had just been Kuro... but Decay's armies reached Nibel. We weren't prepared! Our defenses weren't ready! Spirit Weapon Light hadn't been spread and with me in this state, I couldn't do it! I tried! I tried so hard but I was barely alive! I blacked out days at a time! I could feel my entire body withering and rotting! Do you have any idea how painful that is? I struggled to remember anything, to keep track of anything. And they died... they all died...

Fellis: What about the gumon? Surely they must have helped?

Sein: Oh Zion... merciful Zion...

Eclair: They... it... no. You can't mean...

Sein: With Kuro killing anybody who tried to reach me or the sacred focus points, Decay's children reached my Elements without any sort of resistance. I felt them. I felt... so violated. My Elements. My wisps. Parts of my divine Light... and they just grabbed them and poured Decay all over them and inside them! And I couldn't do anything! They were violating me and all I could do was scream and sob inside my own corpse! It was awful! AWFUL!

Eclair: Didn't the gumon have one of the Elements powering their... oh... Oh.

Sein: Forlorn is destroyed. When the Element of Waters was corrupted, Decay agents used it to hijack the Element of Winds and create a sudden, lethal-level flash freeze. The blast was so intense that even with heating systems at full power, they all froze.

Kiinae: That is... awful.

Mellyn: Wasn't Forlorn the biggest gumon city in the world?

Gesseritch: ... it was...

Eclair: Zion almighty...

Sein: For three years, I watched as my children tried to fight. But without my Light and with the gumon dead... they didn't stand a chance. Black Root Burrows fell. Decay just... continued to spread, its forces taking over everything. I... I wonder if those years were a divine punishment. If I had... done some terrible sin and for it, I was condemned to die last. Decay did not kill me. They came to me but they felt me without a heart-Light. They knew I was no threat. So they let me live. And I watched. And I cried. And I could do nothing. I saw... all of them become Ancestral Trees. Our tribe, our culture, our traditions, our civilization... I saw Nibel's Light being extinguished. My bloodline... I saw its extinction.

Gesseritch: Sein...

Sein: And then they took my final Element, in Mt.Horu. Even without my Light, I could sense Horu's fields burning. I could see the smoke pouring out of the volcano. And I knew... that Nibel would soon die. And I would be the last to die. I watched every child I had die. I saw... Nibel's Light go out. And I no longer cared. Everything I had fought for, everyone I had cared for, was gone. I... just wanted the pain to end. I wanted nothing but for my Light to go out and to join my children in the Forest beyond Death. Nothing... mattered anymore.

Fellis: ...

Mellyn: ...

Eclair: ... but you are here. How did you survive? Nibel must still be here, if you're here. The story can't end here.

Sein: Ori... it was Ori.

Gesseritch: Your kid?

Sein: I don't know how but when the Decay came, it did not claim him. The monsters did not find him. I don't know what had happened. But I saw him again, as he reached my meadow. After three years... he finally answered my call.

Eclair: Three years? Why would it take him that long to answer? Also, wouldn't he be there with whoever took care for him?

Sein: He was... so weak. Sobbing, the entire time. I could see his ribs, his body malnourished and frail. He was barely alive...

Gesseritch; Oh hell no... I can see where this is going and I instantly hate this.

Sein: He kept trying to call for his mom. And I couldn't answer. I could just watch. I COULD JUST WATCH! My last child... the last survivor of our once beautiful tribe... and I could do nothing! He was nothing but a child! He wanted comfort so much. Just... the embrace of love. Nothing more. And I just saw him fall and crawl. And I understood the depths of the suffering that had been inflicted upon the both of us. My poor, poor Ori... Because of my recklessness, I lost everything. And at that moment... destiny granted me the reunion I had so foolishly grasped for, only to make it the death march of my final son, and the end of Nibel's Light. Trapped in the prison of my own corpse, I and Ori were finally reunited just in time for me to watch him... die.

Eclair: ...

Mellyn: ...

Fellis: ...

Kiinae: ...

Gesseritch: ...

Sein: I couldn't take it anymore. I thought my last tears had been dried up but as I watched him cry and sob and crawl, I felt my heart-Light breaking in two. Even if it was gone, I still felt it breaking. I couldn't take it anymore. I wanted to die. I wanted to belong once more to Decay. Anything... anything was better than this torture. To watch my son, my last son, cry his eyes out and die surrounded by uncaring silence, while I couldn't even tell him that I was here. I saw him... release his last breath. His Light leave his body.

Kiinae: Ori, he...?

Sein: I refused. I could not take it anymore. I knew it would kill me. I knew it was in vain. But I reached out. I tried, one last time. And the echoes of my dead kin reached out to me. I prayed to Zion from the bottom of my Light and I reached out, trying to breach the endless void that separated me from him, to establish a connection between us, no matter how meager. I reached out to him. And... and I felt myself slip away. I knew that while spirits are made of Light, we need our flesh to live. We cannot exist as pure Light for long. But I did not care. My son's life had been taken from me. I refused to accept that. And so I prayed and I reached out to him. I willingly gave my life.

Gesseritch: You willingly- Please tell me you didn't!

Sein: I did. I torn myself out of my Spirit Tree form. I poured everything that I was, everything that I had been and ever would be, into the void. And as I reached for him, I prayed to Zion and begged Him. That he take my life and spare my son's. To take his place in the Forest beyond Death. To accept my final sacrifice. And then... Zion... He... answered my prayer.

Eclair: ... what.

Fellis: Zion did what?!

Sein: I felt my Light... become his. And his emptiness, become mine. For the first and final time, I embraced my son. And I willingly took his place, taking root within the Forest beyond Death.

Mellyn: ...

Kiinae: ...

Gesseritch: ... how are you here, if any of that is true?

Sein: I... do not know what happened next. I died, for the second and what I thought would be the final time. I took root within the Forest beyond Death, joining my tribe. I had... so many regrets. But Ori would live. And maybe... maybe he would escape the forsaken, doomed land that Nibel had become and get the life he deserve elsewhere. But... that was just the beginning. I don't know how much time passed after my second death. But then, I felt... I felt thoughts, emotion, and an impossibly bright Light. And I was... floating. Awake. The world was a haze of blurs and images. For a time, I thought Zion had granted me one last sight, one last memory of Nibel before I passed away. But then, I looked down and saw my son, looking at me with awe and shock. And as I embraced him, I felt... I felt his fur. I felt his Light. I felt him alive. And I felt myself alive.

Kiinae: How is that possible?

Sein: He found my heart-Light. Somehow, he managed to pour back a portion of what I had used to revive him back into me. I was... diminished. A mere floating ball of Light. But I was... alive. I owe him my life. I willingly gave my life for him. I died for him. And he... he brought me back. He didn't even know I was his mother. He just... did it.

Eclair: I have difficulty believing it.

Gesseritch: I don't. It's Sein we're talking about. I should go in-depth about some of her adventures she had. And from the sound of it, seems becoming a tree didn't stop you from having a new adventure, you crazy girl!

Sein: Indeed. I brought him to my corpse and I shared with him what had happened. I didn't have all the details back then but I had enough to tell him about Kuro. I... sugarcoated some of it. He was just a kid. He didn't need to know how brutal the invasion was or how horrifying and one-sided the war had been. I also... didn't tell him that it was my corpse in that meadow. I could feel his sorrow, how alone he felt. Even without saying it, I could tell he had been orphaned again. I... I was not sure I'd be able to exist long as a heart-Light without a body. I didn't want to give him false hope. I then told him of the Elements. I had hoped... to intimidate him.

Mellyn: Intimidate him? Why?

Sein: I wanted him to leave Nibel. To save himself. Our tribe was gone. Forlorn was gone. Black Root Burrows was gone. There was no life for him left in this dying land. With Mt.Huro erupting, there soon wouldn't be a Nibel anyway. I wanted him to run. To go for one of your lands and build himself a new life. For the memory of Nibel to live on inside him. But... through the sorrow, the terror, and the pain, I saw his eyes sharpen. And I saw him manage to get himself to stop trembling.

Gesseritch: Oh boy. Let me guess. Your kid took from you.

Sein: That's the worst part! I wanted him to stay safe! Instead he got it into his stupid head to try and save Nibel! I didn't want to lose him again and here he was, dragging me into some adventure! This was crazy! When I went on adventures, I was a grown adult and I had knowledge of the Spirit Weapons! Ori couldn't even wall climb or Bash! And he just went for it! Charged straight in like some deranged nutcase!

Kiinae: So you explained to him that you had to be subtle and you sneaked past Decay's armies?

Gesseritch: Somebody forgot about how Sein is, here...

Sein: Pffft. You wish. Let Decay's freaks harm my kid? I may have been reduced to a ball of Light but I AM a Spirit Tree's Light. I totally kicked tail and took names. Any monster that tried to touch my kid, I barbecued. Blasted walls to shreds here and there, too. I mean, it's me. You know how I am.

Gesseritch: So you totally had an adventure even after you became a tree. You crazy girl...

Kiinae: I'm glad you managed to protect Ori.

Sein: I can't take all the credit though. In my weakened state, I had to survive off his Light so I couldn't wander far from him. He ran, he jumped, he made me proud. Also, he made me realize how utterly reckless I had been back when I was a spirit as he proceeded to give me heart-Light attacks time and time again.

Eclair: Heart-Light attacks?

Sein: Ori, like all of us, learnt that razor vines totally suck.

Gesseritch: Aaaaand that is what Life Cells are for!

Sein: A lot of things happened but what you need to know is that thanks to Ori, I kicked Shriek's agents out of Nibel and gained control back of all of my Elements. Also made some new... odd friends.

Kiinae: And how did it end? You mentioned something about Kuro realizing what she had done.

Sein: ... oh yeah. That. How do I put it...

Gesseritch: Take all the time you need, babe. You're still clearly shaken up by all this.

Sein: After restoring all Elements, I felt that maybe, just maybe we might have a chance to save Nibel after all. Just needed my son to put me back into my heart-Light cradle and see if I could merge with my body again. We had just finished getting away from Kuro. She got buried under a huge pile of ashes. We were convinced we were done and it was the home stretch, you know...

Eclair: Wait. Why didn't you smite her?

Sein: Well, it wasn't really her fault and you, you know...

Gesseritch: Pfft. I sense a lie. Tell the real reason!

Sein: Wha-?! What are you implying! You idiot!

Kiinae: Hmm... it's strange, yes.

Sein: It wasn't like that! I mean... I... I do have my pride!

Mellyn: Were you too weakened to do it?

Sein: ... errr.

Gesseritch: You totally were.

Sein: Not like we didn't try! I and Ori worked together to throw a gigantic boulder on her head! It was huge and really freakin' heavy! I thought it would do it! And Kuro just shrugged it off like it was nothing! Even with all of the Light I was recovering, Kuro was a lot tougher than she looked!

Gesseritch: Why didn't you use the Elements? I'm sure a giant tornado could have likely done the job.

Sein: Nibel was in an advanced state of Blindness! I was pouring all of the Elements' power into keeping Nibel's environment from breaking down completely! Which reminds me, how the hell did Decay get so strong so quickly? And why didn't any of you send reinforcements or help?

Fellis: Errrrr-hummmm... maybe we should keep that for later. Please, later.

Sein: Fine. So we had just ditched Kuro for what should have been the last time. Ori and I were right by the meadow. My body was right there. And then... all of a sudden, Kuro's claws were, somehow, wrapped around Ori's frame and she was squeezing the life out of him. I tried to blast her but then she grabbed me and squeezed me as well.

Mellyn: ... oh.

Sein: I... I thought that was it. I wasn't even angry or sad. I was... just shocked. And kicking myself. I got careless! I should have known being buried in ashes wouldn't stop Kuro! Once again, my reckless nature costed us. Ori... he granted me a second chance of saving Nibel. He risked his Light, his future to give me that chance. And... I wasted it. I could see his broken, mishapen figure. The blood pooling under him. The way his broken ribs pierced out of his crushed chest. His ragged, pained wheezes as he struggled to breathe. His tears from the pain, his body twitching. He was dying. Again. And so was I. Again. Because I was so blinded by the sight of our goal that I couldn't care to be more careful for five more minutes. If I had been able to, I would have laughed at that moment. Because of my stupidity... I destroyed that hope. And he paid the price.

Mellyn: Sein...

Sein: Then... Naru came. I had always wondered who had been my son's adoptive parent. As I saw her grab Ori's broken frame and start to wail, her sobs mirroring my silent ones, I finally realized the truth. And it... broke me even more. She... is his mother just as much as I am. And both of us, we cried for the loss of our child. Even as Nibel burnt around us, none of that really mattered.

Eclair: That can't be the end.

Sein: It wasn't, amazingly. As Kuro watched us grieving for Ori, it seems that finally, it moved her. Her eyes stopped glowing. I think... she had never realized that in her hatred, she had been orphaning mothers, breaking families, and destroying homes. She had been convinced that she was punishing an arrogant people, led by a heartless and uncaring god. I think... that at that moment... she realized that she and I were the same.

Eclair: The same? How...

Sein: I and Kuro were the same. Powerful but reckless, thoughtless. So blinded by pain and our desire to protect our loves ones that we do not realize the consequences of our actions. Because of my obsession with Ori, I burnt Nibel with my own Light and killed many, including Kuro's own family. I was completely blinded by my pride and my sorrow. I had not realized just how many were paying the price for my recklessness. And at that moment, Kuro realized that she had become what she hated. That she had become... me. Burning everything around her because she is too stupid, too absorbed by her desire to protect to care about anything or anyone else.

Gesseritch: Sein... you aren't... please...

Sein: No. It's okay. It made all of us realize the absurdity of this action. And what we were losing. Kuro's nest was burning from Mt.Horu's eruption. Nibel... was finally completely dying. Her last egg about to die, just as my last son bled to death. Our children, paying the price for our sins. Suffering, because of our arrogance. I... gave my life for my son. And she... gave hers for her own child. In the end, she redeemed herself. She saved Nibel. She saved my life. And everyone else's. It does not erase what she has done, what I have done. But... through her final sacrifice, Nibel is... alive. And my son is... alive. As is her child.

Gesseritch: It was a close call. You have way too many of these...

Sein: I really have way too many of these. The shock as I rebecame fully myself was incredible. And I didn't have time to let Kuro fly away. She didn't even try, she knew that there was no time and no use trying. So she simply stayed by my side and as my Light brushed against her body, we both knew what was meant to happen. I unleashed absolutely everything I had. I reached to the Elements and reconnected them to my Spirit Tree body. I then unleashed everything and fought with all of my might. I diverted the lava, vented the volcano's smoke, and took control of the land again. My Light burnt Decay's armies, banishing its influence back out of Nibel. Once more... I booted Decay from my land. And of course, I directed some of my Light to heal Ori's injuries.

Eclair: So Nibel got saved. But what about...?

Sein: Now... I must grieve for my children. I am blossoming again. My tribe... will survive. But all of the Combined Light born spirits and my previous children are dead. Ori... is the last of my living sons. Within him live the Light of Fil, of Ano, of Leru, of Reem, of all my tribe. The legacy and Light of Nibel live on, inside my son. But not just the Light of my tribe, too. His kindness found the heart of the sole survivor of Forlorn's tragedy. My son... represent all of the Light of Nibel. He is our hope. The child of our land. Within his Light, the memories of all of us survive. He continue to live with Naru. She is... kinder, more responsible than the fool I am.

Gesseritch: Please, Sein. Don't do this to yourself...

Sein: Some days... he visit me. I think... he figured out who I really am. What is the true relationship between us. I tell him over and over how sorry I am for all of this. How I wish I could have given him a better life. But all I could give him... all... a-all I could give my l-last son... was an endless field of Ancestral Trees and silent ruins. Th-this is what Nibel is. A grave. And a monument to my arrogance. This... this is the only world I could give him. I pray... I pray he can forgive me someday...

Fellis: ... Sein. Nibel has been hit hard. You went extremely close to extinction. We won't ask you to help with the Blindness ocuring. You need to rest and grieve.

Sein: ... Blindness?

Gesseritch: Nothing we can't handle. Just... rest. Let the wind blow into your leaves and the Light of your dead kin flow within you. There's no rush. We will hold the line until you have recovered in body and Light. Both you, and Ori, absolutely need to rest.

Kiinae: Leave it to us. Ori will have the quiet, peaceful life you wanted him to have, now. We will shine for you. Everything will be alright.

Sein: Gesseritch, Kiinae, Fellis, all of you... thank you. I don't deserve friends like you. I don't deserve friends like you...

Gesseritch: There there, it's okay. We're all here. Take comfort in my Light, babe. It's alright. Nibel's Light may shine dimmer but it still shine true. Everything... will be fine.

Sein: Thank you... thank you.

Gesseritch: So! Big adventure, wasn't it? Seems like your Ori is absolutely taking after you! He'll grow up to be an amazing badass! Told you he was from my pollen!

Sein: Whaaaa-?! GESSERITCH! May you accidentally uproot yourself and send yourself tumbling into razor vines!

Gesseritch: Hey, it's almost certainly true! He's certainly badass enough already from what you're telling us! Of course, since you need to blossom a lot to replenish your tribe, I'll be more than happy to help you out! I got plenty of pollen for ya, sexy! ;3

Sein: I hope you turn into a giant glowing icicle next winter! Seriously! Gesseritch! You are incorrigible!

Fellis: Well, I'm glad we're back to a semblance of normality!

Kiinae: Yeeep. Sein back to being sassy and wishing Gesseritch would get hurt. Still, this will definitely change a few things.

Eclair: Sure will. I still can't believe Forlorn and Black Root Burrows are gone...

Mellyn: There's other gumon settlements across the world though. I'm sure they'll be happy to help.

Gesseritch: As I said, Sein, don't worry about the future. You and Ori can sit tight. We got things well in hand.

Sein: Thanks...

Kiinae: Well, we need to get to work. And you should think about spending time with your son. So we should go back to our duties.

Eclair: Oh yeah, that's right. I'm having a few of my tribe members walking up to me. Something about an unnatural forest fire. I'll be talking to you all later.

>> Eclair has left the chat room.

\---

Eclair reflected upon the events. The world was less peaceful and Nibel had been hit hard. However, it seemed things had turned out alright in the end.

Nibel will be reborn. Sein is alive. And Ori has a life.

There has been much tragedy in the world lately. Eclair focused his Light. For the sake of those who have left for the Forest beyond Death and to honor the story he has heard, he shall do everything in his power to contribute. Sein and Ori can rest easy. He and the other Spirit Trees have things well in hand.

There will be trials ahead but Ori will not have to face them. It is now up to him, and his fellow Spirit Trees, to ensure Sein and her child shall have the peaceful life they deserve.

Grasping at his mastery of the elements, Eclair reached out and...

"Oops. Oh right. Winds on fire spread them instead of extinguishing them." He thought to himself. At least he didn't set himself on fire this time?


	9. Thinking (and growing) outside the box!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Mellyn ever escape her house? One of the great mysteries of the universe!

Eclair pondered the events that had happened recently. Much had happened since the Great Storm. Delilas, one of the Spirit Trees in charge of containing Decay in Niwen, is dead. Pupae XVII is dying. Nibel's tribe suffered almost complete annihilation and Sein barely survived. A single spirit child, Ori, somehow drove back the Decay in Nibel and prevented it falling into the Cult of Decay's hands. Oh and Sein managed to cheat death. Again.

For a sprout, he had done well. He also was starting to be less of a sprout, actually! His trunk and branches had lost their sapling blue color and were now starting to have real bark on them. He was starting to actually feel tall, with his branches starting to spread out. Soon, he would be mature enough to have his first blossoming.

To be fair, he tried not to think of that. After all of the antics and shenanigans involving Sein, Gesseritch, and Fellis, he was not sure if he really was ready for such things just yet. They had a way of making it all sound just so perverted!

Now that the issues were dealt with, he guessed it was back to normal. Well, as normal as it could get. He reached out to the aurora of different Lights shone from Spirit Trees across the world.

\---

>> Eclair has joined the chat room.

Mellyn: Are you sure it would really cause that bad a Blindness? I mean, I'm happy finally being able to talk with my mate but-

Sefirot: Your mate truly is ungrateful. He can finally talk with you, has learnt you are truly alive, and yet he is still unhappy?

Mellyn: Well, you see.. it's just that... we are mates after all and I... well... we... kind of...

Sefirot: By all that is holy and sacred, cease and desist!

Fellis: Oh my! So! You felt yourself... blossoming, aren't you? Teeheeheehee!

Sein: Aaaaah... to be a young Spirit Tree all over again! The foolish ideas! The frankly absurd experiments! I know where this is going ;3

Fellis: You are pondering if the... "pollen"... of spirits is capable of impregnating your flowers, aren't you?

Sefirot: CEASE AND DESIST! NO MORE! NO MORE!

Fellis: ... did it feel good?

Mellyn: ... I don't know?

Fellis: I KNEW IT! You tried it! You tried it!

Sefirot: I DO NOT WANT TO RECEIVE THIS LIGHT ANYMORE.

Gesseritch: Oooh too bad. You don't got no stomach for a tiny bit of romantic antics. How sad. You can just leave the network and come back later, murder-tree.

Sefirot: I DO NOT HAVE A STOMACH ANYMORE, YOU UNBELIEVABLE HALF-WITHERED PIECE OF CHEAP ANT-WOOD.

Sein: Wow! We managed to make Sefirot swear like me! Cool!

Eclair: Wha... what have I walked into.

Fellis: Mellyn just discovered whether or not her flowers are sensitive! ;3 Also, whether it is possible for a spirit to "pollinate" a Spirit Tree!

Eclair: TOO MUCH INFORMATION TOO MUCH INFORMATION TOO MUCH INFORMATION.

Mellyn: I swear every leaf I got just turned red! Please stop...

Sein: Fine fine. Anyway, no, you can't just descend.

Mellyn: I just want to hold him...

Gesseritch: It's not that simple, Mellyn. Believe me, it's an ugly business.

Mellyn: But Sein did it! And she then had an adventure with her son as a pure heart-Light! Why can't we just go around, moving again?

Sein: Look. I was diminished. The Spirit Tree is what's left of our bodies after we ascend but it's not a prison, as much as it feels like one. While we may be divine and being of pure Light, we can't survive forever without a body. Let me tell you the old prayer Ori, ZIon's first son and the hero after which I named my own child, told to the first generation of Called: For each land, a Light. For each land, a Tree. The Light may be eternal but the vessel is not. Therefore, the chain of Light must be transmitted, each vessel a link in the chain. Thus is the Cycle created by Zion, hallowed and blessed be His name.

Mellyn: What?

Eclair: Oh! I can clarify this one. Zion may have withered but his Light live on within all of us, his sacrifice forever echoing and resonating in our Light. But while His will may be eternal, He, and all of us, are destined to wither one day. Thus, new spirits must ascend and take upon the duty He once took.

Sein: Each of us are the Light of a land. But all of us are still bound to the tree form of our previous mortal lives. We need that flesh, well wood, to live.

Gesseritch: I think the prayer and religious talk is not exactly clear enough here. Remember, the girl isn't some devoted priestess, just a brave gal who saved her land and then was introduced to the happy tree club by Zion. So, Kiinae, if you will?

Kiinae: We are Light. All spiritkind is Light. But Light on its own is not physical. We all know what happens when a spirit's flesh falter. Their Light leave their body, lose cohesion, and if not entombed in wood, will be extinguished. And even if entombed, the consciousness that once lived within move on to the Forest beyond Death, what remaining behind being an echo of who they once were. Ascension is actually sorta weird and to be fair, is not understood that well. But from what I understand, it allow us to become beings of pure Light. However, our bodies doesn't cease to exist and actually, become a living tree. Essentially, we split into two. A Light and a Spirit Tree.

Mellyn: Weird, I never thought of my tree as being anything else than my body. In fact, those feel like my branches, not some other being's. And that Light, well, it's mine. I am both?

Kiinae: That's because we're both. We're both. Well, normally and if everything goes well. And that's where Sein's situation is unusual.

Sein: Normally, if a spirit's heart-Light is torn off, they die instantly. You can't live without it. It would be like trying to live without your head. Can't be done. Well, I learnt the hard way that it's not that way as a Spirit Tree. You see, I died more than just a third time, during the Blindness. When Kuro tore out my heart-Light, she lethally injured me but because of how my Light covered all of Nibel, I found myself both as the Spirit Tree and in the heart-Light. Then, things got incredibly surreal when she crushed my heart-Light. I felt myself die. I felt darkness and my thoughts cease to be. I died. However, as a Spirit Tree, there was so much Light in my body that I continued to live while being dead inside my own tree. Somehow, I was now fully the Spirit Tree.

Eclair: Wait. Then what does that make our Light?

Sein: That's the weird part! It was weird! I was both the tree and the Light at once, without being one being! It's like what Kuro did separated us in more ways than I thought possible. Then Ori revived my heart-Light and I was suddenly only the Light, without a body.

Mellyn: That still don't answer my question...

Sein: Mellyn, I was lobotomized. I wasn't myself, not truly. I was barely alive and I had to actually survive off of the Light Ori leaked. Even then, without my tree? I was slowly dying anyway. If Ori had not returned to my tree, I would have lost cohesion, my divine Light splitting back into wisps. And then, I'd likely have completely lost myself and crossed to the Forest beyond Death.

Gesseritch: Given how often you went there, wonder if it would have done a thing to slow you down.

Sein: Not funny.

Gesseritch: ... sorry.

Mellyn: But couldn't our heart-Lights just be separated for a short while, once in a while? Move independently from the tree? I want to leave my house...

Kiinae: Because it's akin to being beheaded, as she said? She was barely alive, cut off from her Elements, and constantly losing herself. Beside, if you want to talk, you can do so through your Light once you have grown enough for your heart-Light cradle to fully form. We did teach you.

Mellyn: What about descending?

Sein: Oh boy. That.

Mellyn: I want to know... please...

Sein: Fine. But I must warn you. It is only, AND ONLY, for cases of absolute, extreme, desperate emergencies. Essentially, most of us know that once you have assembled a divine Light, you don't need to embrace it right away. Likewise, so long as you're alive, you can actually remove a divine Light from your body after embracing and then split it back into wisps. However, when you become a sprout, you are committed.

Mellyn: But you descended...

Sein: Listen. To descend, you have to to shatter and break your own tree form. All of it. You must use your Light to bend your everything and essentially make yourself implode. You are effectively killing yourself and it will hurt as much as it sounds. You must somehow crush yourself into a ball, burning all excess roots and branches, and trap your own divine Light. Then you must kill yourself as a Light. Shatter your divine Light and vent every single bit of Light you had as a Spirit Tree, release all of it back into the land. This will create giant shock waves and likely damage the forest seriously. THEN, while you are dead but before your Light can lose cohesion, you must use the last of your power before you fully fade away to reform your spirit's body and heal, shoving yourself back in and locking yourself inside.

Eclair: That sounds... crazy.

Sein: Because it is. It's also the second most agonizing experience you can ever go through. And believe me, I'm no stranger to pain.

Eclair: Worse than dying?

Sein: Dying is the third worst pain possible.

Mellyn: What about the most painful?

Sein: Giving birth.

Mellyn: ...

Sefirot: Why am I even here?

Kiinae: We all wonder the same thing, murder-tree.

Mellyn: So, it is painful and unbelievably hard. But why did you say it's that bad?

Sein: You don't understand, don't you? You are destroying your very divinity, shattering your Light, unmaking yourself fundamentally. Every single bit of power you gained as a Spirit Tree? Kiss it good bye. In fact, you lose the ability to become at all. You must restart your pilgrimage from the start, going around and reconnecting with the land, restoring your wisps, and then creating a new divine Light. And that is given you can do it a second time. Oh and by the way, it doesn't extend your lifespan. You return to the age you were when you first embraced the Light. So Gesseritch and Kiinae over there, who ascended from old age? Not an option for them even if they were desperate enough to try it.

Mellyn: Oh.

Eclair: ... what could have driven you to do such a thing?

Sein: Not every ascension is clean or true. It's why Called are tested and why we don't hand out the knowledge of how to spark wisps to every single kid we get. Even if a spirit has completed the pilgrimage and embraced the Light, there is no guarantee they may ascend and produce a Spirit Tree. The land of repentance is filled with dozens upon dozens of dead trees, the results of a Spirit Tree ascension attempt that produced a Lightless, lifeless Spirit Tree.

Gesseritch: Sorry kid. I wish we had better news but yeah, as Sein is saying? Once you join the happy tree club, there's no going back to the furry critter club.

Mellyn: I see... I... see.

Fellis: Look, don't be so sad. I know you two wished to be together in a more... direct way. And you miss... well, that. I do too, to be honest.

Sein: As do I...

Sefirot: Please do not restart that talk.

Fellis: But what matters is that you're now grown enough for you to use your Light to speak and thus for the both of you to be together in some form again. It's not the same, I know. But you must learn as all of us did.

Mellyn: I don't want to leave him like this. We...

Sein: Look at it differently. You cannot hug him with your branches but you are the Spirit Tree or are you not? The winds are yours. The warmth of the land is yours to command. Reach out to him. I cannot hug Ori with my branches, either. But every time he leave his cave, I reach out with Nibel's breeze and I wrap my Light around him and he knows it is me. Let your mate know you are here for him. Be creative.

Mellyn: I'll try.

Eclair: Good.

Mellyn: ... hummm... I got a question.

Sein: Yes?

Mellyn: How can I do that if I'm... hummm... still stuck in my room?

Sein: ...

Sefirot: ...

Fellis: ...

Eclair: ...

Kiinae: ...

Gesseritch: Well, ain't you in a tiny bit of a pickle! Hey, wouldn't that mean that you're literally inside a greenhouse?

Sein: I hope your roots accidentally dig deep enough into your mountain to "find" a lava vein, you idiot!

Mellyn: It's not funny! I'm feeling kind of faint. It took me a lot of energy to dig through my bed and then the floor of my room! And now all of my branches are kind of feeling stuffed in there! And I get sunshine from just my window!

Kiinae: Sein, this call for an intervention.

Sein: I agree! Time to start a new adventure!

Gesseritch: Oh boy oh boy oh boy! This is gonna be goooood!

Eclair: Oh Zion no.

Sein: Operation "get Mellyn out of her room" is go!

Kiinae: I got my Light packages ready! This is gonna be awesome!

Sein: I just called Ori! He's gonna participate too!

Kiinae: Oh! I got my own heir wanting to participate too! Say hi! "Hummm am I doing this right, grandma?"

Sein: Whoa! How did you do that?

Kiinae: You know how our children can use us to talk in our divine voices? Try getting Ori to do this but direct it into the Light you broadcast instead.

Sein: Trying it.

Kiinae: ...

Sein: "Hello? Hello? I'm Ori. Am I doing this right, Sein?"

Kiinae: He did it! See? Not that hard!

Sein: Success! Whoo!

Gesseritch: Wait, are you sure Ori is a boy? That voice was really freakin' high-pitched.

Sein: Oh great going, Gesseritch! You upset my son!

Gesseritch: Huh?

Fellis: Gesseritch, given his voice, I'm sure nearly everyone and their pet tease Ori about his voice.

Kiinae: ... should I even mention that Yuki just asked me who the girl that spoke using Sein's voice was?

Sein: Can we please talk about something else than my Ori sounding excessively feminine whenever he get nervous or get hurt?

Gesseritch; Oh? So that happens often? :D

Sein: I swear! May moles decide to settle down in your roots!

Gesseritch: Fine fine. Time to get Mellyn to come out of her shell!

Mellyn: Excuse me, what?

Gesseritch: You've clearly been bottling all your beauty up inside. It is time for you to feel the great outdoors! How else are you gonna be pollinated by me? :D

Mellyn: Whaaa-no! I never even met you! I don't know what you look like!

Gesseritch: Shall I share another memory image of my time with Sein?

Sein: NO.

Gesseritch: Killjoy!

Fellis: I have an odd feeling that this operation is not the most serious thing we have ever done...

Sefirot: Bah. You shrubs wouldn't be able to lift a dead tree out of a raging river even if your lives depended on it.

Sein: Let's get started! Let's see if Ori got a suggestion! "Humm, okay. So, you just grow out of your house? You're not stuck in some cave, right? Aren't most houses made of straw or something?" Oh! Nice one, Ori!

Kiinae: Yeah, I've been wondering the same thing, myself!

Mellyn: It's hummm... it's just... how do I put it... Look, Kiinae. Houses by your tribe are made of wood instead of straw, right? They're very solid, right?

Kiinae: Sure are. They may not be gumon stone buildings but they're pretty tough. Need to be, to not crumble under the weight of all the snow we got in Polaris.

Mellyn: Well, my house is kinda like that. It's made of wood. I can't grow through it.

Sein: Oh! Don't be sad, Ori! Spirit Tree problems can get complicated. We just have to get creative about them! "Oh. Thanks mom..."

Kiinae: Oh! Oh! I know! You got power over the winds, right? Why won't you just tear off the roof?

Mellyn: I tried that. I couldn't lift it! It's too heavy!

Kiinae: You silly! Not from above! Direct the wind to the side!

Eclair: I had awful experiences with trying to control the wind. I predict failure. And pain.

Sein; Oh shut up, you pessimist! Let's see how it goes!

Mellyn: Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no.

Kiinae: What just happened? "BeEeEh."

Sein: Did you just bleat?

Fellis: Oh Zion it was CUUUUTE!

Kiinae: No! Why would I do that?! That was Yuki! Didn't you feel the difference in the Light?!

Gesseritch: Oh please. Everyone know you were a goat-style spirit in life. You totally bleated just now.

Kiinae: NO! I DID NOT!

Sein: Teeheeheehee! That was amazing! And cute! Ori think so, too! "Yeah, it was really cute! Hehehe!" See? He think so too!

Kiinae: No! I did not bleat! I do not bleat! "Oh, was that laugh coming from Ori? He sounded cute too!... not that there's anything wrong with that, of course!"

Gesseritch: Ooooh? Is your heir taking a fancy to young Ori?... of course she is! He is from my pollen and will grow up to be an absolute ladies male, just as I did! Look out, Sein! Once your son hit puberty, you will be having GRAND-CHILDREN! Lots of them!

Sein: Gesseritch, I will make toothpicks out of your branches, I swear!

Fellis: Grand-children are always nice, though.

Sein: Yes... I hope I get grand-children again someday...

Eclair: Shouldn't we worry about Mellyn for now? She did go "oh no oh no oh no" on us.

Sein: Oh! Right! What happened?

Mellyn: I shifted the wind and blew as hard as I could on my house! My house shook a bit but didn't budge otherwise!

Kiinae: That's it? Don't sound too bad.

Mellyn: It uprooted huge trees! One of them smashed through the wall! Its branches are intertwined with mine! It itches!

Gesseritch: Ah! So you now have a second mate :D

Mellyn: You... you... you big oaf!

Sein: Nice one. A few more years and you'll be throwing death threats as imaginative and aggressive as mine at him! ^v^

Gesseritch: I look forward to it! :D

Kiinae: Alright, so that didn't work. Let's see if Yuki has any ideas!

Sefirot: This is a disgrace. You are Spirit Trees and yet you refer to the judgement of mortals to resolve one of your issues? Zion would be ashamed of everyone of you.

Sein: Yuki is a Called and will someday be a Spirit Tree. This is excellent mental training to get her used to solve issues using the kind of power a Spirit Tree has access to.

Sefirot: Are you saying you intend to pledge Ori to Zion's path and name him a Called?

Sein: No. He has enough trouble in his life as is. My heart-Light can't take that many scares.

Sefirot: Then why.

Sein: Because I like spending time with my son? Of course, you cannot understand this, given your relationship, or lack thereof, with your own children.

Kiinae: Shush, silence murder-tree. Yuki got something! "Maybe make the roof more fragile? When something is frozen, it's easier to break and I hurt my head less when ramming it."

Sein: Oh yeah, I heard about that. It's actually true you know! Change the temperature a lot near something and even stone will break relatively easily! "Huh? I don't remember that happening when we were in Forlorn's ruins." Remember what happened when you restored the Element of Winds, my son. "Oooooh! Yeah! The temperature rose back and then everything crumbled down, nearly killing me!... I wish you hadn't reminded me of that..."

Gesseritch: Don't worry, young Ori! One day you will look back at such things and you will laugh!

Sein: Not everyone get crushed by giant rocks and then treat it as if it was nothing.

Eclair: Most spirits tend to become very flat. And to have all of their blood splattered all over the place. Very messy. They also sprout as Ancestral Trees shortly after.

Mellyn: I'll try it! Maybe it will work!

Sefirot: You are already a Spirit Tree. Becoming an Ancestral Tree would be redundant. It would however make the atmosphere around here better.

Fellis: Oh shut up, murder-tree. Go for it, Mellyn!

Sein: Let's see if it works! "I hope it doesn't cause something giant and heavy to fall on her..." Nah, there's no way that would happen, my son. I mean, it's not like she would have her house at the bottom of some cliff with inconveniently placed boulders nearby, right?... right? Please don't tell me that is the case.

Mellyn: Oh no. I just heard a rumble! I think that OH ZION!! I can't see anything! There's snow everywhere! It's COOOOOLD!

Sein: Well, at least, there were no giant boulders falling...

Mellyn: AND A GIANT BOULDER FELL THROUGH THE ROOF!

Sein: ... oh. "... Oh."

Mellyn: I'm buried in snow! I can't see anything! And I'm freezing!

Eclair: Just rise the temperature again?

Kiinae: DON'T DO THAT. "No! Mellyn, don't!"

Fellis: DON'T DO THAT.

Gesseritch: DON'T DO THAT.

Sein: DON'T DO THAT. "Humm, mom? Why did was your voice so loud when you said that? And why would it be bad?... now that you mention it, why do I have a sinking feeling about this?"

Sefirot: Oh yes. Please do that.

Mellyn: AAAAAIIIIIIEEE!! I'M UNDERWATER NOW! I CAN'T BREATHE!!

Fellis: Don't worry! The water will drain through the window! Your branches will be okay.

Mellyn: THE WATER IS NOW STUCK HALFWAY IN MY ROOM! MY STUFF! MY STUFF IS SOGGY! AND MY ROOTS ARE STILL UNDERWATER! ZION! I'M DROWNING! I DON'T WANNA DROWN! I DON'T WANNA BE A TREE!... oh, I'm already a tree. I JUST MEAN THAT I DON'T WANNA DIIIIIE! AND MY STUFF! MY PRECIOUS STUFF!

Sefirot: You are a Spirit Tree. You cannot even make use of your belongings anymore. It is pointless to stay attached to such things.

Mellyn: MAY SHRIEK PERCH ON YOU! THOSE ARE GIFTS FROM MY MATE AND MY FAMILY! I DON'T WANNA LOSE THEEEEM! AND I'M DROWNING! THIS SUCKS!

Sein: Calm down! Calm down! Use your connection to the waters of your land! "Won't flooding her house even more make things worse?" Ori, I know the Ginso Tree filled up when you gave me control of the Element of Waters back. It wasn't on purpose. In case you wonder, I was every bit as displeased as you were by that particular event. Mellyn is fully in control. She will manage. "Why do I have the feeling she's not in control at all?" Ori Ori Ori... remember my lessons about being positive even when you know life is about to punch you in the face? "... yes?" Now is a good time to remember them.

Kiinae: "Grandma? Why is Ori so pessimistic? Shouldn't he sound more like Gesseritch, being the great hero of Nibel?" Oh my sweet sweet Yuki. May your innocence remain untainted for years to come...

Mellyn: I... I drained the water. But there's still a tree intertwined with me, the room is soggy, and now there's a stupid giant rock right next to me! This sucks!

Gesseritch: You know... I'm suddenly reminded of something. Sein. Didn't you die in a deep cavern? Yet you sprouted in the meadow above, right? Spirit Trees are capable of lifting themselves up, aren't they?

Sein: Oh! I had not thought about that! Mellyn! Do you have power over the earth itself? Push youself up! Right through the roof! Maybe that will work! It should be weak, with the wind, snow, and water that happened! "Maybe she can ask her friends and tribe to just saw off the roof?" Naughty Ori, it wouldn't be fun if she just asked her mate to fix the issue for her! She's supposed to be a Spirit Tree! She need to fix her own issues! "Didn't I help you with the Blindness, mom?" That was different, Ori. Also, please stop broadcasting that kind of thing. Every Spirit Tree in the world is hearing you.

Mellyn: Are you sure?

Gesseritch: Well, at worse you'll just crush yourself against the ceiling and die. But hey, you won't have to worry about being stuck in your room anymore once you take root in the Forest beyond Death!

Mellyn: That doesn't make it any better!

Eclair: At this rate, Mellyn will spend her entire reign as a Spirit Tree stuck in her house...

Mellyn: No no! I'm not staying stuck in my room until I die of old age! No way! Fine! I'll try it!... here goes nothing... oh dear.

Kiinae: "Oh Zion. I hope it goes well. I'll pray for her." I'll pray for her too.

Fellis: Come on... you can do this.

Sein: Zion watch over you, Mellyn. "Who is this Zion guy you and every other Spirit Tree keep talking about, mom?"

Mellyn: ... oooooow...

Sein: Oh no. "Are you alright?!"

Mellyn: I.. I... Oh! Oh ZIon! Sunlight! Glorious sunlight! Praise Zion! I never really believed in Him before but now I do! Thank Zion! Oh Zion! Sunlight! I feel sunlight! And that dumb tree is gone! And the boulder is no longer brushing against me! Release! Glorious release! I can feel my branches just spread out! Zion! This feels even better than mating!

Sein: "... mating?" ALRIGHT, ORI. GAME'S OVER. TIME FOR YOU TO GO BACK TO NARU'S CAVE! WASN'T THAT FUN?! "But I-" THERE YOU GO. NOW OFF, YOU GO! AND DON'T ASK QUESTIONS!

Kiinae: "Grand-ma?" Back to training with you, Yuki! Thank you for your cooperation! Now, shoo, shoo! Get back to training! Yes, right now! No, don't ask that kind of question!

Fellis: Is it time for... the talk? :D

Sein: NO.

Kiinae: NO.

Sefirot: ZIon no.

Fellis: Aaaaaaaw!

Sein: Anyway... Mellyn?

Mellyn: I can feel sunshine. Oh Zion. Finally... I'm out of my room! I can see outside my house! I have not seen outside my room for years!

Eclair: So everything's alright, now?

Mellyn: ...

Eclair: Mellyn?

Mellyn: The roof. It's stuck. I'm stuck. HELP! My main trunk pierced through it and carried it with me! It's heavy!

Sein: Here we go again...

Fellis: Have you considered taking the name "The great hat-wearing tree"?

Mellyn: NOT FUNNY. GET THIS THING OFF ME! THIS SUCKS! I FINALLY MANAGE TO GROW OUT OF MY ROOM AND THAT STUPID THING IS STILL ABOVE ME! EXCEPT NOW IT'S EVEN WORSE! THE THING IS NOW DIRECTLY STUCK TO ME BECAUSE MY TOP BRANCH IS PIERCING THROUGH IT!

Eclair: At this point, I think this is a message from Zion. Or maybe we truly are this incompetent. I cannot believe we have all been foiled by a big plank of wood.

Gesseritch: Hey, big wooden things can be pretty tough! I mean, look at me! Spirit Tree of a cool land of adventure! I'm pretty tough too!

Sein: Gah. I need a break.

Kiinae: So do I. I think Mellyn's house has triumphed over us all.

Gesseritch: Not to worry! Someday, Mellyn, we shall all defeat your roof!

Fellis: Say, do you know who built your house, Mellyn? Because I absolutely need to hire them. They got to be the best wood shaper alive.

Eclair: Well, it's nice to know our Light sharing network is back to normal at least. See you everyone.

Sein: See you Eclair!

Mellyn: I'M STUCK! HEEEEEEEELP! ;n;

>> Eclair has left the chat room.

\---

Eclair would have groaned if he could. Yep. The Light sharing network is indeed back to its normal state: filled with completely insane trees discussing complete and utter nonsense.

Madness. This world is filled with madness.


	10. I, me, and myself. A romance story!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sein is very confident that she is the Light of her own Spirit Tree. That she and her body are one.
> 
> But hey, it's just her opinion :D

Eclair thought about how unhinged the Spirit Trees who tend to talk in the Light sharing network tend to be. He then wondered about the literal hundreds of other distant trees and how they rarely spoke. Given Garsia and the late Delilas, surely Sein, Fellis, Kiinae, and Gesseritch must simply happen to be among the more unhinged ones in the world, right?

... right?

Right. Guess it's time to connect and talk with the others. He's feeling a bit bored. Decay is not especially vigorous in trying to eat him and his loved ones today.

\---

>> Eclair has joined the chat room.

Eclair: Hello everyone!

Sein: Oh, hi there! You came at the right time! Your input is absolutely required!

Kiinae: The destiny of all spiritkind hinge upon this! You must be as impartial as possible!

Eclair: Hummm? Okay? I'll try my best.

Sein: Our bodies! Do we refer to them as the gender we had in life, as "him", or as a genderless "they"?

Eclair: ... what.

Kiinae: This is serious stuff! We have more than five centuries-worth of pre-recorded narration on historical events and no standard on how to call our trees! This stuff need to be decided! It's very important!

Eclair: What. Whaaaaaat.

Kiinae: We should use the gender we had as spirits! I am Kiinae! I was a female and I still feel like one! And Gesseritch is absolutely male! His voice drip with maleness!

Sein: I disagree! Have you even spent a single second listening to our own Spirit Tree voices? They sound just, so, deep! Like, even Gesseritch can't sound this deep! "Him". It is absolutely impossible to refer to our Spirit Trees as anything but "him".

Eclair: ... I think I have just gone completely insane. This cannot be happening.

Kiinae: That means nothing! It's an universal Spirit Tree narration godly voice! Even my Yuki sound like this when she talk through my heart-Light cradle!

Sein: That's my point! No spirit in the history of ever had a voice this manly! Not even Zion Himself! And he has the sexiest voice ever! Oh, I still get the shivers from when I felt remnants of His Light brush against my own.

Sefirot: How about a genderless "they"? We are trees. Flowers contain simultaneously male and female reproductive parts.

Gesseritch: But it isn't that simple! Trees born from male spirits have a massive amount of stamens while trees born from female spirits have lower amounts of stamens in their flowers but ginormous pistils! So there is still a physical difference there!

Eclair: I think my heart-Light is about to explode. I can only take so much madness!

Sein: Male gender!

Kiinae: Same gender as our spirit forms!

Gesseritch: Genderless!

Eclair: Why does this even matter at all?!

Sein: Eclair!

Kiinae: Eclair!

Gesseritch: Eclair!

Sein: You have to decide! You'll be the tie breaker! The fate of all spiritkind and the clarity of our historical records rely on your decision! Now choose! Do it!

Kiinae: You must choose correctly! Everyone know I'm right!

Gesseritch: Nonsense! You ladies are completely misguided.

Sein: Hypocrite! Aren't you pushing for genderless?

Gesseritch: I'm only talking about the trees! Not our Light ;3

Eclair: Wait, aren't we supposed to be our Lights and trees at a once? Oh Zion...

Sein: Eclair! It's "him"! It's the only logical option!

Kiinae: Nonsense! I was a female and I'm still female! I refuse to call myself a "him"!

Sein: I'm just talking about our trees when we do the whole third-person thing to our kids!

Eclair: SOMEBODY SAVE MEEEEE!

>> Seelin has joined the chat room.

Eclair: Oh! Someone I never saw before! Here, this is your problem now! Should we refer to our Spirit Tree selves as "him", the same gender we were as spirits, or as a genderless "they"?

Seelin: Oh hello there! I'm usually never connecting to the Light sharing network at this time but my latest lover has kept me up all night and I can't sleep. So here I am! ^v^ Also, why not just ask your Spirit Tree?

Sein: Oh right. Like my tree will answer. Oh hey, myself. Do you feel like a male or a female today? Oh hi there, myself. I am totally female but somehow, if you talk through your heart-Light cradle, you will totally sound like the deepest, most masculine male of all time. Fancy that!

Seelin: Really? You never asked your spirit before merging with them?

Sein: ... what.

Kiinae: Huh?

Gesseritch: Merging with our spirits? That is a rather strange thing to say.

Eclair: Don't we ascend by combining all of our wisps into a divine Light and then embracing it?

Seelin: Ooooh! So you are all Spirit Trees?

Sein: ... duuuuh?

Fellis: Last I checked, yes.

Sefirot: ...

Eclair: Given I have branches with leaves instead of arms and bark instead of fur, yes?

Seelin: Oh! Amazing! I never thought Spirit Trees could shine that brightly like this! It's just amazing!

Sein: Err... what? It's... not hard. All you have to do is use your heart-Light. You know, the whole divine Light thing? The thing you embraced? You use it to shine? Like you're currently doing?

Seelin: Oh? So your Lights are helping you doing this? This is so nice of them. ^v^

Eclair: ... I am very confused.

Fellis: Anyway, you mentioned a lover, right? You have a mate like Mellyn over there?

Seelin: Don't we all? I am so happy about my Spirit Tree. He is such a darling. So lovely and lively. ^v^

Mellyn: ... huh? What?

Seelin: Sein, I heard you decided to move on from your last tree. Traveled a bit with some Ori youngster. So! Is he your type?

Sein: ... my type?... MY TYPE?!

Eclair: I'm totally lost...

Gesseritch: Maybe we should investigate?

Fellis: Gesseritch, are you sure this is a good idea?

Gesseritch: It is an atrocious idea that will totally make all of us, including me, regret this later! But I am bored and I am very brave, and very foolish! Let us do this! :D So! What's your name?

Seelin: I am Seelin, the Light of Mildel. My latest Spirit Tree is the lovely Great Ash Tree. He is such a lovely mate. ^v^ He embraced me forty years ago and we're still happy together!

Sein: What the hell are you talking about? Your Spirit Tree embraced you?! How would he do that? Spirit Trees can't move!

Seelin: Pfft. The same way the Great Oak embraced you, Sein. He did it as a spirit, combining your wisps and then embracing you.

Sein: Ascension doesn't work that way.

Mellyn: I am completely confused...

Seelin: By the way, I heard about what happened in Nibel. Truly sad what happened to the Spirit Tree's children. But I'm happy both you and your previous mate survived, Sein.

Sein: ... my mate?

Seelin: I guess that after separating from him, you must be feeling like the urge to be embraced by a new spirit already, aren't you? I heard that Ori is pretty cute! You have good taste!

Sein: Seelin. I don't know if you have heard... but Ori is my son. Are you implying that I would be wanting to enter a relationship with my own son?

Seelin: You don't have to hide your feelings from me! And it's okay to feel conflicted toward your Spirit Tree's children. The spirit life cycle can get confusing!

Fellis: ... I am in awe. And not in a good way.

Mellyn: ... I am not sure I like where this is going.

Eclair: I don't understand. I understand absolutely nothing...

Seelin: It's alright. I guess I'll explain. As you all know, the Light is eternal but the vessel is not. That means that all of us, the Lights of the lands, are immortal. But we need new vessels every few generations. Conveniently, the spirit life cycle is linked to us!

Eclair: Errr... I think that part of the myths is supposed to be metaphorical, not literal. You know, Zion's legacy? The whole chain of Light thing? Every spirit having Light inside them? The whole "We live thanks to Him, His Light inside all of us" part?

Seelin: You see, as a spirit travel the land, they will come to us and interact with us. Combining our wisps and spending time with us. And in time, love blossom. Then we are embraced by our spirits. Embracing us allow us to combine. Our beings merge, our feelings for one another crystalize, and our love become manifest. This is essentially spirit mating, allowing the thus pollinated spirit to take the form of a Spirit Tree and produce children, completing their place in the spirit cycle.

Fellis: What? No! The spirit reproduction cycle doesn't work that way! In any way, form, or shape! You got it completely wrong! Both for spirits and Spirit Trees!

Gesseritch: Pollen. Have you ever heard of pollen, Seelin?

Sefirot: Wait. I think I got it.

Sein: Got what, murder-tree?! This better be good!

Sefirot: Seelin. You say that the spirits that you... ahem... "mate" with, they travel the land gathering your wisps, combining you, and then embracing you, correct?

Seelin: Yes! Like they did for all of you.

Sefirot: Those are specifically YOUR wisps that they gather right. They're not sparking their own?

Seelin: Sparking wisps? The Light of a land is the Light of a land. If it's not combined and then merged to a spirit periodically, it would fade.

Sein: Oh... Zion... why.

Fellis: I think I'm going to be sick...

Gesseritch: In the name of all that is holy... I am officially regretting this.

Eclair: What's wrong? Why are you all reacting this way?

Sefirot: Seelin, how many voices do you hear in your head?

Mellyn: Hey! That's rude! Why would you ask that?

Seelin: About six. The voices of all my previous mates, as well as my current mate, which do not leave me. Even now, long after they withered, their voices continue to echo inside my Light. UvU

Eclair: I do not understand. But I am horrified nevertheless. What's going on?

Sefirot: The Light is part of us. A divine Light is not merely the power of a Called, it is their very being, their very divinity. Now, this Seelin, they are taking their Light and merging it with the Light with other spirits as a bodyless mass of Light. And then using themselves to make them become Spirit Trees, merging together.

Eclair: ... oh my Zion... what the hell...

Kiinae: She is merging with her so-called mates. Literally.

Seelin: Yes, I am merging with them! It's the spirit equivalent of mating! Make them into proud Spirit Trees, birthing our children! They are so cute!

Fellis: Oh dear. She is mad. Completely mad. Six times. She has seven personalities and sets of memories combined in her Light. She's likely so completely insane she can't even remember who she is. For all we know, Seelin might be simply be one of the spirits she merged with later.

Seelin: Mad? If you mean madly in love, yes! The Great Ash Tree is amazing! And I'm not crazy. I spent the entire night with him! Oh the things we do together!

Sein: Seelin. You were talking with a split personality. You are crazy. You need help.

Seelin: Totally not! You're just all repressed! But that's okay, I can help you be happy with your trees!

Eclair: I am suddenly terrified.

Seelin: Let's begin with Sein over here! Teeheehee! ^v^

Sein: Oh hell no.

Seelin: So! Can you tell us more about Ori? He's quite the strapping young fellow, isn't he? I bet you must dream of him!

Sein: Why you- ORI IS MY SON! He's also ten, you idiot! He's a kid! And even if he wasn't, the fact that you're even SUGGESTING that I'd... I'd... GAH!

Seelin: The spirit cycle is a confusing thing, I am aware. But it's okay. Talk to Seelin and she'll help you resolve your feelings! The Great Ash Tree is also there! Yes, Seelin is right. I agree with Seelin. I am bearing the Light of Seelin and am very happy about it. See, he is happy! Would you like to meet the Spirit Chestnut Tree? He live on inside me! He's one of my past mates, too! Say hi Spirit Chestnut Tree! Hi! The Spirit Chestnut Tree is happy to meet you! And Seelin is happy too!

Mellyn: I really don't want to receive this Light anymore.

Kiinae: I actually miss that argument we were having earlier. I think all my needles just spontaneously dropped on the ground. I have no idea why. Might be because of the horror.

Fellis: I know I'm the love freak here but humm... Seelin? Those... aren't your mates.

Seelin: Oh, Seelin is listening but she knows she is right about the situation. Don't worry! By the way, I'm the Great Ash Tree!

Sein: This is stupid!

Seelin: So Ori! He's ten? I guess you must have an early crush! Does he return it? Don't worry! Once he hit maturity, I'm sure he'll take you on a trip across the land and then gather all your wisps. I got some tricks to make your moment of embrace... hotter ;3

Kiinae: GROSS GROSS GROSS!

Sein: Let me explain to you slowly, you lunatic. Ori. Is. My. Son. I only love him as a mother love her son. I harbor no fantasies about him and never shall. Are we clear, here?

Seelin: Ooooh! A suspiciously specific denial! Got it, Sein! ;3

Sein: I swear that the day Ori is old enough to travel, I will send him to your land. Armed with an axe. He's the kindest, sweetest kid I ever known. But the moment I explain the situation to him, he'll do it without asking questions. In fact, he'll be halfway to your location by the time I'm done talking.

Seelin: Oh you flatter me Sein but I would never get in the way of you and your next mate. I'll cheer on you two! ^v^

Gesseritch: Are you actually going to tell Ori, Sein?

Sein: NO! JUST NO.

Seelin: You should tell him about your feelings, Sein!

Sein: SHUT UP! I hope you get eaten by beetles!

Seelin: I'm a Spirit Tree's Light, not a Spirit Tree! That can't happen, sis! Also, you upset the Spirit Chestnut Tree and all my other mates. Yeah, you big meanie! You shouldn't say mean things like that!

Sein: You don't even have mates! Your Light is not shifting at all! They're just split personalities you absorbed! You're talking to yourself!

Seelin: The Great Ash Tree disagree! How could I be talking with him if he wasn't there? Also, I'm currently riding! I'm shining from him! Yes, Seelin is shining from my heart-Light cradle! The spirits of our tribe are telling you that you're all wrong! And very repressed about your feelings!

Mellyn: I do not want to be here anymore!

Seelin: Mellyn, who's your mate by the way? What kind of tree is he?

Mellyn: No. Just no. I had enough. I'm out.

>> Mellyn has left the chat room.

Seelin: I don't understand. I was just curious about her mate.

Gesseritch: Well, it's just... you know what, nevermind. How about you cease broadcasting and go back to talking to your mates in your head?

Seelin: You big silly! Not before I get Sein to get out of her shell about her crush! Also, not all of my mates are in my head! The Great Ash Tree is right under me right now! Ooooh, he feel so good! ^v^

Eclair: Is it possible to force a Spirit Tree to leave the network?

Kiinae: Unfortunately not. We are all broadcasting to one another using our Light. All of the words we hear are us decoding the Light we are receiving from the auroras. All we can do is try not to listen.

Seelin: Aaaaw. But all I want is to help... Yeah, Seelin just want to help. Please listen to her.

Eclair: You know, I have been wondering for years why the great sages kept telling me that one should never, ever try to ascend by using wisps that aren't your own. I never expected to find out. Well, now I know. AND I WISH I HAD NEVER LEARNT!

Seelin: Hey, Great Oak! Or are you simply Nibel's Spirit Tree? How about we cooperate to try and set up Sein on a date? ^v^

Sein: ...

Seelin: Oh, not feeling very talkative? Or are you jealous of your own son? I guess you would be quite attached to Sein, after all! Not to worry. I respect that. I'm sure that **YEEEOWCH!!** Where did that come from?! A huge stone came out of the sky and just slammed into Great Ash Tree! I felt his pain! Is this the work of Decay?

Sein: Call it a warning by Zion.

Seelin: A warning from Zion? About what?

Sein: Leave me and Ori alone. Never, ever even HINT that I may have any sort of romantic feeling or attraction toward my son. Understood?

Seelin: ... a sign from Zion? But... but... young love! The love of a spirit and their Light is pure and beautiful! How will he ever mature into a magnificent Spirit Tree? Beside, embracing the Light is the spirit equivalent of mating! Are you saying he should go his entire life without knowing that wonderful feeling?

Fellis: I think that even if I gave a full lecture about the process of a male and female spirit Combining Lights to produce offspring as well as how Spirit Trees' flowers are pollinated, she would be too crazy to even realize I said anything.

Sefirot: It is truly a lost cause. I pity their land.

Seelin: Oh? No! It's widely accepted! Every spirit know about the spirit life cycle! I got many suitors wanting to replace the Great Ash Tree, you know! ^v^ There's this particular strong male, over there. Ooooh! He's so cute! This is gonna feel so good once he gather all my wisps!

Sein: ...

Gesseritch: ...

Kiinae: ...

Fellis: ...

Eclair: ...

Sein: You know what? I don't want to be here anymore. I think I heard enough for the day. I'll just go and... I don't know. Play with Ori or something.

Seelin: Will you share some memory images of your time spent with him later? ^v^

Sein: NO.

>> Sein has left the chat room.

Seelin: Aaah... the love affairs of a Light and their spirits!

Kiinae: One of my kids just got his tongue stuck on a piece of ice. Must go.

>> Kiinae has left the chat room.

Fellis: Oh would you like that! Some of my kids are asking me advice on ACTUAL romances that don't involve mates that only exist in their heads! Ta-ta!

>> Fellis has left the chat room.

Gesseritch: Oh would you look at that! I forgot something on the stove, I need to take care of it!

Eclair: Aren't you been unable to use a stove for over a hundred years?

Gesseritch; Exactly! Forgetting something on the stove for a hundred years! I must check on it, like, right now. GOTTA GO!

>> Gesseritch has left the chat room.

Seelin: Aaaw. What about you? Need some help? ;3

Eclair: Get the hell away from me.

>> Eclair has left the chat room.

\---

Eclair knew it was just the wind but it didn't matter, he felt like he was trembling uncontrollably. And he thought Sein, Fellis, Gesseritch, and Kiinae were insane! He had thought they were unhinged! He hadn't wanted reality to demonstrate to him that even crazier Spirit Trees existed!

Also, he didn't need to learn the effects of what happened when an already existing Spirit Tree's Light merge with a spirit instead of the spirit undergoing the proper ritual of the Calling as intended by Zion.

The way Seelin spoke with many voices at once, the way she lost track of who she is, the way those voices even layered at times...

He'll have nightmares for days...


	11. Zion approve of this chapter!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spirit Trees discuss more culture stuff! This time, they delve into the spiritual!
> 
> Yep it's religion time!
> 
> What could possibly go wrong? :D

Eclair was currently conflicted. You see, he was unfortunately bored out of his mind yet again (being a tree is just not very interesting, you see) and yet he is dreading the latest round of insanity that shall occur should he connect his Light to that of the other Spirit Trees.

What to do? What to do...

Then a sound came to him. Oh! Several members of his tribe, walking up to him slowly and placing various pieces of fruit. Offerings!

"Divine Spirit Elm, please accept our offerings and bless our tribe with Light and peace this season too..." The various spirits fell on their knees and then bowed before him. Various prayers were muttered, all directed toward him.

Time to do his job as the Spirit Tree. " **I ACCEPT YOUR OFFERINGS, MY CHILDREN.** " He said, a deep, echoing, divine-sounding voice coming from his heart-Light. " **MAY THE LIGHT FLOW FORTH.** "

With this said, he spread his Light and embraced each and every one of them, wrapping them in the currents of his divine radiance. He felt their satisfaction and happiness as his Light touched them. " **I HEREBY DECLARE THIS SEASON BLESSED AND MY PROTECTION OF THIS LAND RENEWED. GO IN PEACE.** "

Look at them, walking away.

...

Wait! No! He merely took less than a minute! He should stretch this out! Make them pray more! Come up with deep-sounding speeches! He has nothing better to do! He has nothing better to-

...

Too late. They left. He can even hear a few of them mumbling that they're thankful the ceremony was so short this year. The nerve! Don't they realize how boring being the Spirit Tree is?! Oh well. Back to his original idea of contacting the other Spirit Trees...

Wait! This is perfect! He shall bring this up! It will be better than whatever disgusting and sanity-shattering subject the others will surely bring up!

\---

>> Eclair has joined the chat room.

Sein: I cannot believe you took that memory image from Ori hanging from a pole over lava at Mt.Horu and then added the caption "Hang in there, Ori!" to it! This is in bad taste! My poor Ori being in peril shouldn't be a meme!

Kiinae: On one hand, yeah. On the other hand, your son looked soooo cute with those big eyes and his little frown!

Fellis: Looked like a big glowing kitty!

Gesseritch: Hey, Kiinae! What about those "fainting goat" spirits of yours? Startle them, they freeze up and just topple on their side! :D

Kiinae: That was made-up and you know it!

Sein: Teeheehee! What's the matter? Can't bear to be on the receiving end of memes?

Eclair: Ahem. I don't know what you are all talking about but I think I got a subject.

Sein: Oh look, sprout boy is back. What's on your mind?

Eclair: First of all, I am no longer a mere sprout or sapling. I have grown and I am no longer merely Eclair. I am now the Spirit Elm, previously known as Eclair.

Kiinae: Ooooh! They grow up so fast! Bring a tear to my no longer existing eye!

Sein: Congratulations! You are now truly a Spirit Tree! How does it feel?

Eclair: Good, actually! I am so relieved I can finally use my Light to speak properly! Also, you were right Sein. Regardless of your original voice, all divine Spirit Tree voices sound a similar kind of deep and masculine.

Fellis: Ooooh and why would you say that? Were you a bit... feminine in voice, before? Maybe even in appearance?

Eclair: Shush! No more nonsense! I have a subject that won't cause me to regret ever ascending, for once! And won't end with me catching on fire!

Fellis: Then go for it, cutie

Eclair: I had a ceremony earlier. My tribes gave me offerings. You know, as to ensure a peaceful season filled with Light, plentiful food, and good weather. And it made me wonder how do all of you honor Zion?

Gesseritch: Oh boy. Religion. What could possibly go wrong?

Fellis: Yeah, we should probably cut it short right there.

Sein: No.

Kiinae: Sein?

Sein: Both I and Ori... well, both of us, we are having... nightmares. Sometimes, I feel myself cringing and my heart-Light cradle start hurting. It's like... I can just feel Kuro's claws around my heart-Light, squeezing, crushing. And whenever I sleep... I can hear the screams, sobs, and shrieks of pain that turn into choked gurgles as my tribe dies. I see an endless field of Ancestral Trees in a petrified, burning wasteland, feeling my body withering and rotting, my mind swimming through a darkness my Light cannot hope to defeat. And I hear... I hear Ori's cries. The sounds of his small hands as he crawl on that ledge and I can do nothing but watch...

Kiinae: Sein...

Sein: I have nightmares about so many things. I have seen... many horrors in my life. I can endure such things. But my poor Ori... Naru tells me that he often wake up screaming, trembling, crying. And not from mere bad dreams either. The dying memories of his kin, the screaming hate of Decay's children as they tried to take his life, the close brushes with death at Ginso Tree and Forlorn's ruins... and of course, the agony of his last crawl, on that dark night. Sometimes, he freeze up during the day. He start trembling, nightmares gripping him while he is wide awake. He's so sweet, innocent, and happy and yet, I can tell that has been scarred by all of this. He was a mere child... and he is still but a child.

Eclair: ...

Sein: He has asked me a question. Naru says he has been asking almost all the time. He wants to know what is that darkness he felt when he died. He wants to know about... the Forest beyond Death.

Gesseritch: Is he here, Sein? Is your son listening?

Sein: ... yes. Here, let me set up my Light so he may speak. Now now, don't be shy. Yes, it's okay for you to climb on me to do this. Here. "Hello? Hello? Is this working?"

Gesseritch: Hi there lad. Yes, we are hearing you.

Fellis: I'm hearing the little guy. Or girl. They're coming through clearly.

Kiinae: Light signal is clear, Sein. No distortions.

Sefirot: Why are you bothering doing this? Why are you so attached to an individual child like this?

Fellis: Yeah yeah, murder-tree doesn't get love, we got that.

Sefirot: I had enough talk of love with that Seelin freak from the other day. I am not in the mood to endure more of that, you fluid-obsessed wench.

Sein: "Seelin? Love?" Now now, this is not important, my dear. We are going to answer your questions, here.

Sefirot: You are not going to tell him about that but you will waste time reminding him of religious concepts every spirit knows about?

Kiinae: First of all, nobody is going to tell him about that. We don't need need to traumatize him further. Second, he was raised outside of his tribe by a non-spirit, remember?

Fellis: And he's still being raised. He's a kid after all.

Sein: "Who is Seelin? Another Spirit Tree? Of what land?" Oh no... Ori, please focus. I don't want to talk about this.

Sefirot: Given your son is likely facing south right now, talking through your heart-Light... Ori, isn't it? Ori, to the left.

Fellis: How about I take this rock and use my awesome Spirit Tree powers to hurl it across the world and his Sefirot in the trunk?

Sein: "Ori but to the left? What? What is he talking about?" Alright, I'm requesting that you all drop this. Nobody talk about Seelin anymore.

Sefirot: You will speak to him of death but you won't tell him of the tree that is shipping him with you. How amazingly ironic.

Eclair: Shipping?

Sefirot: Ask Fellis.

Kiinae: Continue this and we will actually all start hurling rocks at you, Sefirot.

Sefirot: Fine. Proceed with the knowledge every worthy spirit already knows.

Eclair: I suggest you start, Sein.

Sein: I will. Listen, Ori. Nobody knows how life started or where. What caused the first spirit's Light to spark into existence? Who was the first spirit? Was our world born as it is or was it shaped over time? Where is life headed? What is our kind's destiny? "Destiny?" The path that all spirits are walking, my son. That all life is walking. It is what is meant to happen. Our future. It is known as destiny, as fate. But none of us can see the way ahead. Even I, the Spirit Tree, can't hope to light up that darkness with my Light. Thus, all spirits walk blindly, guided by the holy will of Zion and the Cycle, praying and hoping that our faith will guide us along this dark road. And at the end of every spirit's path lies the Forest beyond Death.

Kiinae: While there are many beliefs on how life started, all tribes share the same knowledge of how it ends.

Sein: Spirits do not live forever and even Spirit Trees wither. When life leave a spirit, they take root, forming an Ancestral Tree and within, all that they once were, all of their memories, their emotions, is preserved. This is the legacy of Light, of our people. You are aware of this. "Y-yeah, I am. I absorbed the Light of our tribe, mom. I felt their Light." It is the gift of every spirit to their descendants, my son. Through the act of sprouting, a spirit who has departed this world gift the next generation with their wisdom, their knowledge, their experience. Through this great, infinite chain of Light, our people grow, every new generation of children standing on the shoulders of their elders, the hopes of our people transmitted and carried by their descendants. "But what happens to the life inside the Light? It's not really their real, alive Light inside the trees, just an echo, a remnant. It's what remains of them, not who they really are."

>> Garsia has joined the chat room.

>> Pupae XVII has joined the chat room.

Kiinae: Oh, hello! Sein is with Ori, right now. Explaining to him about life and death. Please let her finish before speaking up.

Sein: When a spirit's Light is extinguished, they leave this world behind. They enter a world of absolute emptiness, an eternal void known as the Forest beyond Death. "An eternal void? Sounds scary. Was it that darkness I felt?" Yes my Ori but it is not to be feared. Our tribe believe that within that primordial forest is the Moon. "The moon? Don't we see it at night, in the sky?" Merely an echo, my son. Merely an echo. The Moon's true form lies within the Forest beyond Death. The source of all Light, the creator of our world, the wellspring from which every Light come from, including your own. When our Light leave this world, it goes to that holy place where it take root, under the gaze of the Moon. And then, the Moon embrace us with a Light of infinite compassion and kindness. All sorrow, all grief, all hurt is washed away by this final embrace. We rejoin with the infinite Light we all came from, the pale moonlight soothing our trees, Her tears feeding us. There is no pain, no more worry. Within this place, our journey finally ends. It is the end of every spirit's destiny. "Are... Fil, Reem, all the others there?" I am convinced they are. Waiting for us. "You brought me from there, mom. Will... will we end there in the end anyway? Will we end up trees in that forest? Even you?" Yes. We all go there someday. Once you have become a tree, you will have a place in the Moon's embrace. And so will I. But not for many years. You are a child. You have a long life ahead of you. But when you die... we will both go there, together. And your brothers and sisters will be waiting for you.

Pupae XVII: I see...

Gesseritch: Pupae XVII, we already told you. You need to take care of yourself. You don't need to keep doing this.

Pupae XVII: No, no. I need to do this.

Sein: "Mom? Who is that Spirit Tree? Why do they feel... so tired? They sound like they're in pain. And sad. They sound sad..." Ori...

Pupae XVII: I was uprooted during the Great Storm, the very one that separated you from your mother. I was grievously injured, beyond the ability of healing Light to recover. I... am not long for this world.

Sein: "That's so sad..."

Pupae XVII: Please do not be sad for me, young Ori. My situation has... enlightened me. I was just so used to the near-immortality that a Spirit Tree granted me. I had... not realized that even as Spirit Trees, there are so many things we took for granted. So many little moments. Just how much I took my family for granted. How little time I spent doing the things that truly matter. And how much of a fool I was.

Kiinae: Pupae XVII, are you alright?

Pupae XVII: Sein, Ori... I have a request of you. Something that I must know before I pass away.

Sein: Anything. "Y-yes?"

Pupae XVII: Both of you have went to the Forest beyond Death and then returned from it. I want to know... is Zion truly awaiting for us in it? I miss my sisters. I hope... I hope to be reunited with them. I have said so many things... done so many things. I have so many things I regret, so many things I wish I hadn't done. And I... I never got to say good-bye to them or apologize for them before they left. Sein, Ori... do you remember anything from the Moon's embrace? Not mere beliefs. Do you have... memories of what lies beyond? Are... my sisters waiting for me? Will... they forgive me?

Sein: ... I... I don't remember anything. After I used the last of my Light and took Ori's place in the Forest beyond Death, there was nothing. Not even the darkness that come from losing consciousness or falling asleep. There is just... nothing. I can't even say that I woke up the next moment when my son brought me back. I have the feeling that time passed. I just... remember nothing of that time. Nothing at all. Like a great void. I can only feel it by its edges, by feeling that a hole exist there. I am sorry, Pupae XVII, I really am. "I... I don't remember anything either. I just remember pain. And then the world was so bright, but in a bad way. And I felt... I felt at two spots at once. And... and... and..." Please, Ori, do not do this to yourself. Here here, I'm here...

Pupae XVII: It's alright. I had... just hoped. I appreciate this, from both of you. I am glad to be surrounded in love. To have friends like you. I'm... not really afraid, you know. I just... I just think I'm going to miss you all.

Fellis: We will all miss you, Pupae XVII.

Eclair: This is... much more depressing than I thought it would be.

Gesseritch: We're talking the Forest beyond Death. What did you expect, sprout boy? Rainbows, lollypops, and laughter?

Eclair: What is a lollypop? Also, I'm not a sprout anymore! I'm the Spirit Elm...

Gesseritch: You'll always be sprout boy to me, kid!

Eclair: I'm not a kid either! I ascended as an adult!

Gesseritch: Compared to us all, ye're a kid and you'll always be one! Just roll with it, boy.

Eclair: Anyway... I'd prefer if we spoke about our daily rituals. How we honor Zion.

Sein: "Zion?" Time for you to learn the culture and traditions of our people!

Sefirot: Here comes the heresy.

Kiinae: You do realize that by the standards of everyone not a murder-tree, your actions are blasphemy?

Sein: Shush. Now now, my son... Zion is the first Spirit Tree to ever exist. He shone in a clear, radiant Light so bright it shine even to this day. Every Spirit Tree, including me, carry the echoes of his divine Light. "Woooow! Was he really that strong?" More than you can imagine, Ori. You know how I have three wisps, the Element of Waters, the Element of Winds, and the Element of Warmth? Well, Zion had eleven wisps! "Eleven? That's a lot!" More than you think, Ori! No Spirit Tree ever wielded as much power as him. There is a reason he was known as The Almighty. "So what did he use all that power for?" Well, that is the interesting part...

Sefirot: Do you really need to talk to it like this?

Fellis: Nobody asked you, murder-tree. Go on, Sein!

Sein: It is said that once, our world was ruled by Decay. Spirits lived in small tribes, as prey to the monsters that ruled the world. Our lives were short, brutal, painful, and filled with fear. The world was one of never-ending storms, where anyone's life could be ended almost randomly by the whims of an angry monster or by the cruelty of a world that hated us, families freezing or cooking within their hiding places, the wind often picking many of us up never to be seen again, and the waters leaping out of their beds to swallow us and drown us. It was then that Zion appeared. Wielding the power of eleven wisps, Zion connected with the land and became the first Spirit Tree, bringing Light and order to the world. From Zion's Throne, in Niwen, He sealed the Decay deep underground and delivered the world from evil. He united our tribes and became our god, watching all spiritkind and embracing us with His divine Light. "Whoa! Sounds incredible! And... Decay?" Decay is the force that caused the Blindness, years ago. The force that tried to take your life and mine. Even to this day, it lives. "But if Zion defeated it, why does it still exist? Why did the Blindness occur?"

Sefirot: Your son is not aware of the eternal enemy? After having fought it, even? What did he think it was? Wild animals?

Kiinae: You can fight something without knowing its name, you know...

Sein: Decay was sealed away but it is resentful of the Light. As Zion withered, He called to His children and taught them the secrets of ascension, of how to create new Spirit Trees. He also gifted them with all of His knowledge. His firstborn, Ori, then spread that knowledge to all of the tribes so that even after He died and our people went back to being divided, a great chain of Light would be reforged. His gifts would be transmitted from generation to generations. Just as He shone and filled our world with Light, banishing the Decay, His gifts allowed all Spirit Trees since to continue maintaining the Light as he once did. My power comes from Him. And within you live His Light. Within all of us live His Light. Though long withered, He live forever as the Light that guide all of us. "Wooow... so that is what you meant about that His Light live inside us, that we live thanks to Him, and that we all return to Him, in the end? We are alive because He banished the Decay, his Light is within all of us, and... I don't get the last part." It's simple, my child. A Light is a spirit's Light and what makes a Spirit Tree a Spirit Tree. His Light live on past his withering within all of us. Through us, He live forever. And when we go to the Forest beyond Death, our Light rejoin with His, which echo back into the Light of the living. Thus... He is eternal.

Fellis: Zion's will be done.

Eclair: His Light shine eternal within us all.

Sein: Now, my son, now that you know this, you must learn the rituals. "Rituals?" Do you remember the poses and maneuvers I instructed you to do whenever we used the Spirit Wells? And what I would sing? "Yeah. I never understood the point of them." Those were prayers to Zion. Whenever you embrace the Light, taking a Spirit Tree's radiance within your being, you must recite the correct prayers and let your body be carried and moved by the Light. "Hummm... why?" The echoes of His Light live on within all of our Light. You must reach out to them, let them embrace you, let them guide you. Just as He guided us in life, He continue to guide us in death. The prayers allow you to attune your Light with His holy radiance. As you twist and bask into the Light, it is His arms and Light that you feel on your body and Light, soothing you and filling you with His gift of life and destiny. "Ooooh! I understand now! How do you know all this stuff, mom?" I was a high priestess of Zion when I was a Called. "Called?" That ritual, though, is something I'll tell you about when you're older. For now, we shall focus on your basic education. As a spirit, you must know the basics of Zion's legend and how to honor Him in daily life.

Eclair: Hopefully, your rituals are respectful of His Light.

Sein: To be fair, there's quite a few rituals I think we can skip on, Ori. I never liked the Ceremony of Tears. "Ceremony of Tears?" More or less a century and a half passed between Neriah, Nibel's last Spirit Tree passed away and me becoming the new one. It became customary for spirits to journey to the dead stump of Neriah and cry at his roots every two weeks. "They must have cared about Neriah a lot..." That's the worst part! Most of those spirits were born during the Blindness, long after Neriah died! They did it purely out of tradition and faith! In fact, up until the Blindness caused by Kuro and the destruction of our tribe, your kin STILL journeyed to Neriah's stump every two weeks to sob at it! I've been a spirit for nearly two hundred years! All of the spirits that knew Neriah in life were already dead of old age! "Oh. Put that like that, it does sound silly..."

Gesseritch: That's because it is. Milky sobbing sops they were.

Fellis: Still better than most of your kids.

Gesseritch: Errr... carry on Sein. Let's hear about what you did as a priestess!

Sein: "What you did as a priestess? You were a priestess as a sapling?" When you're older, Ori. Anyway, the purpose of rituals and tradition is to keep your Light attuned and to help guide you to your destiny. Some tribes like to give daily prayers to Zion but I've never really felt it necessary unless you are on a pilgrimage or in some sort of perilous situation where you may easily lose track of His Light. So! Every new moon, you should go to a high hill from where I am easily visible. Then you should bow down like this, I'm showing you an image of the pose in your own mind right now. "On my knees, forehead touching the ground, antennas pointing outwardly?" Yes. Then, you should reach out with your Light and start reciting a few prayers. I'm sharing a Light package with you right now. "Mom? Why are they directed at you?" Because I am one of Zion's heirs, as a Spirit Tree. But those prayers are just so our Light can connect. Once you do this, I'll reach out with my own Light and embrace your being. Once that is done, we move on to the second set of prayers, directed at Zion. "Hummm... do I really need to do this?" I know it may seem strange but you'll feel better. It's to reconnect your Light with your purpose in life and feel the echoes of His Light within you. Sometimes, when a life is uneventful, life can start to blur and it's easy to lose track of time. Feeling His Light and joining me in prayer will allow you to refocus your life. Who knows? Zion Almighty may even bless you with divine inspiration and give you ideas! "What kind of ideas?" All kinds! Places to travel, things to do, ways of helping Gumo with his relics, maybe even just games I, you, and Naru can play together! Or maybe the beginnings of something amazing! It could be anything! "Whoaaaa... sound amazing!" Believe me, you will soon bask in His Light and wonder how you could ever live before without His guidance.

Kiinae: Ah! New Moon prayers. We have these too. Though, no offense Sein, but yours seems a bit... basic?

Eclair: For a priestess, the ritual you shared with your son seems a bit... abridged.

Sein: That's because you're a zealot and a Zion botherer.

Eclair: Hey! I resent that!

Gesseritch: Peace peace! Sein, let's educate your son further, shall we?

Sein: Yes, let's. On the full moon, you will also pray, Ori. Same pose, on a hill from which you can clearly see me. The prayers are a bit different so I'll guide you along the first few times. "Oh, I see. So once every week and a half or so?" That is correct. "But what if Zion send me some kind of vision and I need clarifications? Or if I don't quite get what you meant in the last prayer? Do I just go back to the hill and repeat all that stuff?" I'm glad you asked. No, that would take far too much time and well, you have places to be and a life to live. Remember how you used the Spirit Wells to heal, how they connect to my roots, and how I just explained how by using them, I was actually making you pray? "Yes?" Spirit Wells are useful for more than just healing and traveling, you know! If you ever feel confused or lost, or you simply want to feel my Light and you can't reach my meadow, go to a Spirit Well and then, perform the poses I am showing you with my Light. "Like these?" Yes. Recite those prayers and reach with your Light like this. The Light shall answer your call and you shall feel Zion's embrace. And through His Light, mine. If you ever feel confused, lost, or alone, I will always be by your side every time you pray, my Light ready to embrace you and lift the darkness for you. Call upon me, my son, and I will come.

Eclair: That can't be it.

Sein: Of course not. Those are regular prayers. There are seasonal and yearly ceremonies, of course. Ori, you're already familiar with the Light Ceremony. "... yes." Don't be like that. I know I messed up during the Blindness but that Light Ceremony wasn't normal. I'll explain to you what it is and how it's normally done. "I guess? I'm listening..." The Light Ceremony is the single most important ritual of spiritkind and the one every single culture share regardless of their faith. That is because it is the moment during which a Spirit Tree gather all of the Light in the land back to themselves and then use it to eject all Decay from the land, bringing forth a new year of life and peace to the tribe. The Spirit Tree does not need the help of the tribe but as this is the moment during which Light is most intense, many spirits will perform a pilgrimage to the Spirit Tree and then enter a state of deep meditation and prayer. "Why do they do this, mom?" Do you remember Fil, Ano, and your other dead siblings? "... yes." They live on inside you, their Light absorbed into your being. During the Light Ceremony, the Light of every spirit, alive and dead, connect together. For a brief instant, I use my power to share the gift of life with all. If you wish to meet your dead siblings and immerse yourself in their Light, the Light Ceremony is the moment to do it. "I can... talk to them? Meet them?" Yes, Ori. This year's Light Ceremony, I will show you how. I'll share with you the poses and prayers to recite to attune yourself to my Light.

Sefirot: Meaningless sentiment. If you returned the Light of your dead children to you properly instead of leaving them isolated from you inside Ancestral Trees, you would not need to do this to give the dead a voice.

Fellis: You aren't speaking for the dead, murder-tree. Also, Sein is being metaphorical, not literal.

Sein: "... metaphorical?" I am giving life to the memory of your siblings during the Light Ceremony. But their actual consciousness is within the Forest beyond Death. "Oh... oh. I thought for a moment that you could... that..." Unfortunately, raising the dead is not that easy, my son. A Light Vessel can resurrect the recently deceased but it require a large amount of Light to create, enough to significantly drain a Spirit Tree. When I brought you back I actually took the place that was meant for you in the Forest beyond Death. I sacrificed myself for your sake and if you had not found my broken heart-Light, I would have taken root there. Most of Nibel's tribe is unfortunately beyond my reach. "Oh... I see..." Don't be sad, Ori. You will still feel their Light. You will learn who they were.

Sefirot: How absurdly touching. It brings a tear to my non-existent eye. Truly. Such platitudes.

Sein: There is also another purpose to it. As the Spirit Tree, I am the focus point of all of the Light in the land. This include the Light from both the dead and the living. "You already said that, mom." Yeah but what I mean is that I gather all memories within me. Everything the tribe knew, I house within my Light. And that is why the Light Ceremony is important. In that moment when your Light and mine shall become one, I want you to start reciting those prayers. Give yourself completely to Zion. Let go of your sense of self. For a moment, allow yourself to join with the purity of His Light and abandon your own life. And as your Light and mine connect and become one, I shall take your memories and record them into my heart-Light. "... record?" Like an Ancestral Tree, Ori. In fact, a Spirit Tree is the mightiest, largest Ancestral Tree. One so large and so magnificent it hold the Light of everyone at once. "... does that mean that you could teach me anything?" Given you can handle it, I can teach you any ability, yes. "Why didn't you do that during the Blindness?" Ori. I was kind of too dead to do that during the Blindness. "Huh? Oh. Oh right. The tree had withered and you were a pure Light floating by me. Oops. Sorry..." It's alright, Ori. But yeah, I can teach you anything the tribe knew and when you connect to me, whatever you learnt, I'll be able to transmit to your little brothers and sisters too.

Kiinae: It is incredibly convenient, as you can guess. I make use of that ability a lot to ensure my children can survive the harsh climate of Polaris.

Sein: "Wooow! So does it mean that you could give me all kinds of powers?" No. "What? Why not?" You are not ready in body or Light. During the Blindness, I actually used my Light reserves to compensate for your awful, awful technique. You remember when you tried to show off in front of your sisters? "Pl-please don't remind me! Please..."

Gesseritch: Huh? What happened? Why is he sounding so sad and terrified? Surely it must have been a sight to behold!

Sein: Gesseritch, Ori is a child. He is not ready to use techniques such as the Charge Jump or the Bash maneuver. When he tried, he immediately drained himself of all his Light. He actually tapped past his Energy Cells' reserves and poured some of his heart-Light into the maneuvers.

Kiinae: Oh no...

Sein: He lost his glow completely and fell to the ground, almost entirely without Light. If he hadn't lost consciousness mid-Bashing from both the pain and knocking himself out, he would have killed himself. He needed a Light transfusion from me to survive and even then, he was in a coma for four days. It was awful. "And both you and my other mom scolded me for four more days..." And you deserved all that scolding, Ori! What were you thinking?! I think my heart-Light dropped out of its cradle when I saw you without Light! "I get it I get it! And it was awful! I-I didn't think... I didn't..." Exactly, Ori. You didn't think. You picked up many bad habits because of me. I'm not connected directly with you anymore, Ori. It's now purely your Light that you consume and use every time you use your abilities. Your Light is your very life. You must learn to respect it, pace yourself, and use it efficiently. "I-I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." There there, don't cry. It's okay. It's why I'm teaching you, after all. Just relax. Let's take it one step at a time, okay? "Thanks mom..."

Sefirot: This is absurd. All of this for a single spirit...

Fellis: If you don't like it, you can always stop connecting to the Light sharing network, you know. Nobody is forcing you, murder-tree. In fact, we would like it if you remained silent.

Sein: "Mom? Why is that other tree so mean? And why is everyone so mean to him in turn?" Errrrrrrrrr... huummmm... Ori? Another day perhaps. Let's focus on your education. "Oh. Fine." Don't react like that. I'll tell you some other time! Juuuuust... not today. Please. Not today.

Gesseritch: Shall I introduce your son to the wonderful world of politics, Sein? :D

Sein: ZION NO. "Whoa! Why did you get so angry, mom? Also, what's politics?" It's something incredibly complicated and deeply stupid. It's pure Spirit Tree nonsense. Please do not mind. "Spirit Tree nonsense?" You know how Gumo and Naru sometimes do things that must be likely extremely important to their own kind but make absolutely no sense whatsoever to us? "Yes?" Politics is that for Spirit Trees. Don't worry about it. It's my headache, not yours. "The fact that you called it a 'headache' is not reassuring me whatsoever, mom..." Ori? Just... drop it. Just drop it.

Gesseritch: Aaaah... the hopeless battle to maintain innocence. A battle that every parent is destined to lose and yet that we fight anyway.

Sein: "I don't understand anything..." Let's just carry on. There are other rituals, too! Holidays and rituals we do once every year! Well... mostly.

Eclair: ... mostly?

Sein: The truth is... during my youth, I prayed a lot, gave lots of blessings, what not. But it was because I needed them and I ran into people in need of feeling Zion's Light. As a Spirit Tree, Nibel is quite peaceful actually. And things got... awkward. "Awkward, mom?" For example, during the season of falling leaves, when the forest produce the most food, many spirits would ask me for a blessing. Something about ensuring a good harvest. "But wouldn't the trees have already produced all of the fruit they're going to produce?" That's the thing, exactly! If I was going to help, it was during the summer or spring, when the trees need energy to produce fruit! And anyway, it would be the trees I'd bless! Blessing my tribe is you know... kinda pointless?

Eclair: Pointless?

Garsia: I'm reminded how so many tribes do not appease the gods of earth and sky...

Eclair: Oh boy, here goes the heresy. I've never seen a Spirit Tree that took root in the clouds.

Fellis: Please! Can we at least get Sein to finish teaching Ori about her own tribe's faith?

Eclair: If you can call that faith. You barely pray! You don't spread blessings!

Sein: "Ooooh... dear. Mom? Can you just... keep talking? This is starting to creep me out..." Thank you Ori, thank you! Alright. I've checked through our rituals and I think it's a perfect opportunity for a reform.

Eclair: **REFORM?!**

Sein: It's my land and our faith! Am I the Spirit Tree or am I not?

Eclair: Arrogance! Your divinity is handed to you by the Light of Zion! How dare you modify any of Zion's rituals!

Sein: Do you think I don't know that, especially when Zion redeemed my Light and freed me from Decay? And then answered my prayers during the Blindness, sparing Ori's life and accepting my sacrifice? You insult my faith, brat! Beside, I was a priestess and I'm a Spirit Tree and there's nothing about Zion demanding we bless spirits in such useless ways!

Eclair: Heretic! Blasphemer! And you call yourself a Spirit Tree!

Gesseritch: Can we just focus on educating Ori before we starting insulting one another?

Sein: "... I never thought I'd hear Spirit Trees yell at one another like this..." It's okay, Ori, it's okay. Please, calm down. Anyway, How about this? We'll focus on working on your faith and basic rituals first. Once that is done, we can see about the fancier stuff. Let's not worry about big ceremonies for now...

Sefirot: Are you going to tell it that it's your heir? Or about the Calling and the destiny of the Called?

Sein: "Heir? Calling? Called?" No. He's too young to wonder about that kind of thing.

Sefirot: Too young? My Heir and my Called are born and then raised immediately doing this.

Pupae XVII: I hate to agree with murder-tree but the Pupae caste of spirits is specifically born and raised as Heirs and Called. Ori is your last son and was named personally by you, correct? He is your Heir. Therefore, by default he is your Called.

Sein: I'm not that old! I'm not even two hundred years old as a Spirit Tree! I don't need a Called!

Pupae XVII: But isn't he your Heir?

Sein: ... yeah, technically. He IS. He even got a title for it: the Light of Nibel. "I'm a Heir? And what about that name?" I didn't want to talk about this...

Pupae XVII: Why not?

Sein: I want him to have a childhood! I want him to have a peaceful life! There was already enough nonsense in his life! And mine! Can't we just have a single year of normality?! Is that too much to ask? geez! "I don't understand..."

Pupae XVII: What are you saying? That I didn't have a good childhood? Now you're just being a bigot! Not everyone is born for a purpose get a life akin to what Sefirot does to his kids!

Sefirot: What I do? The culture of Hilldin is perfectly acceptable! You are just lacking in faith and project because of your jealousy!

Sein: No! I didn't it mean like this! I just meant... I want... GAH! I just want Ori to be happy! "Please stop! Why are you all yelling? My antennas are twitching from all the loudness in the Light!" Please calm down! It's okay, it's okay Ori...

Gesseritch: This trainwreck is absolutely glorious :D

Eclair: What's a trainwreck?

Sein: I guess there's no escaping it. Fine then. Ori? "Yes?" Spirit Trees have lots of kids. Lots and lots of kids. Too many to name individually. So instead, the tribe name them. Likewise, we don't actually write their Life Sequence personally. "Life Sequence?" You know how Light contain information? Memories and the likes? "Yeah?" The body contain information like that. There is a sequence, like a song, inside the flesh of creatures. That song is what determine what the being will be once it's born. This is the Life Sequence. "Ooooh! But what do you mean that you don't write it personally?" I'm... not going to give you the birds and the bees talk just yet, Ori...

Gesseritch: Oh it's simple. You see, when a boy Spirit Tree love a girl Spirit Tree very much and the flowers of the boy send pollen flying through the land to the girl's flowers...

Sein: CEASE AND DESIST. Anyway, Ori. What you need to know is that I love you very much. I weaved your Life Sequence myself and named you myself. Remember when I spoke of Zion's firstborn? "Ori? He has the same name as me..." I named you after him. Zion's firstborn is one of the greatest heroes that lived. I hoped that by giving you his name, you'd share some of the kindness and bravery the hero had in life...

Gesseritch: The name was appropriately prophetic :D Yep! You turned into a hero alright! Just watch, babe! Your son is gonna have craaaazy adventures!

Sein: I hope a sudden blizzard turn you into an icicle! "... mom? Why did you just yell such a nasty thing at him?" Oh! No! No! Ori! Don't get scared! I was just... I...

Gesseritch: Aaaaand Ori has just discovered how his mom REALLY is :D

Sein: May woodpeckers hollow you out and turn you into a bird house!... wait! Wait! Ori! No! I didn't mean it like that! Look what you made me do, you idiot! I hope a sudden storm break off one of your branches and make you hit yourself in the trunk repeatedly!

Gesseritch: I don't even have to say anything to make you swear! I'm just that good, babe :D

Sein: "I wish you would all stop..." Look, Ori, don't be sad. I... "Didn't you tell me when you started this that you'd tell me about all of your faiths?" Err... yes. We did say that. "So... are you done, mom?" Well, there were holidays to talk about, celebrations. For example, there is Blessing Day. When Nibel was first blessed by Zion's Light and our tribe settled into this land, our first Spirit Tree taking root. There is a grand cathedral we built in the honor of this event, where the Ancestral Tree of one of Zion's descendants sleep. "Will I need to absorb or connect with that Light, mom?" Absolutely not!... I mean, no. This kind of Light is sacred and meant to be absorbed when a spirit has been chosen to undergo a grand pilgrimage. I'd rather your life be quiet and peaceful for now, if you do not mind.

Gesseritch: Aaaaaw. I'd love to see what form the Spirit Edge would take, when materialized by your son!

Sein: "Spirit Edge?" Among Zion's gifts is the invention of weapons capable of harming Decay, born from pure Light. Unless you intend to go fight Decay monsters, it's not exactly a kind of Light you want to absorb. "Oh. I see..." Let's talk about happier things. Would you like to hear about some holidays and celebrations? "Oh oh! That sounds like fun! Are those like birthdays?" Yes! Except with prayers and sometimes, with gifts involved. Sometimes for me, sometimes for my children. The most important one is Salvation Day. We celebrate the birthday of Zion's death and rebirth as the first Spirit Tree, when He banished Decay and gave us this world. We celebrate it during fall, when the moon and sun become one, the sun shining with a pure black light. At this moment, when the Light of the Moon abandoned us for the final time, Zion rose and gifted us with His Light. Since then, we have never been and shall never be alone again, forever embraced in His divine love. It is also an opportunity for those who worship the old goddess instead of Him to feel Her embrace as well. "Old god?" The Moon, Ori. The Moon...

Eclair: Heresy. The moon is nothing but a sphere of glowing rock. It is no more divine than the sun. Zion is the one true god of the world.

Sein: Yet the Forest beyond Death is illuminated by the Moon's pure glow. It is the oldest tenet of our faith, one that has endured through all ages in spite of Decay's efforts. Though Zion is our god, the Moon is the true source of all Light and the primordial mother. I believe this is how Zion became our god. He is the one true wielder of the Moon's Light, the physical incarnation and herald of Her radiance. In Him, the Light found the one true vessel.

Eclair: You believe Zion to be a lowly herald? Blasphemous! The moon, as spoken of in legends, is merely a mirror which reflect the Light of Zion and was, like everything else, created by His divine will. You have let old pagan beliefs taint your faith, Sein!

Sein: You insult my faith! I am just as dedicated to Zion and I worship Him with all of my Light! I gave my entire being to Him! I live for Him and His legacy to our kind! And our beliefs are not pagan! Those myths are older than Zion's story! Records clearly state they are! If anything, I should call you a blasphemer! To dare imply that somehow, Zion not creating the world makes Him lesser! Blasphemy of the worst kind! How can you say that His Light, His divine radiance would somehow be lesser just because he wasn't born with it?

Eclair: That's the thing! You say He wasn't born with it! That He was, somehow, a mortal! You claim to worship Him and yet you see Him as merely another Spirit Tree!

Sein: How dare you! Zion's pilgrimage and the sparking of His eleven wisps is one of the holiest tales of our history and the very basis of the Chain of Light that is His gift to spiritkind! How dare you imply that holy tradition is somehow false! Blasphemer! Heathen!

Eclair: Heretic! Traitor!

Sein: "Stop! Please stop! I don't understand anything or why you're all yelling! Mom, can we talk about holidays and fun things again? Pleaaaaaase?"

Gesseritch: Aye. Let the lad learn his people's faith. Who cares if the prayers are different from the ones in your land? A prayer is a prayer is a prayer.

Eclair: How can you say that?!

Gesseritch: What part of "Zion the Almighty" don't you get? He's the Almighty, duh. It doesn't really matter what kind of prayer you make, He will hear you. You could even make dumb animal noises and He'd hear them.

Eclair: That isn't prayer! That would be mocking Him!

Gesseritch: I didn't say it would honor Him, you unbelievable idiot. I just said that He would hear them anyway, since He is Zion. Also, again, what part of "Zion the Almighty" don't you get? His Light is so strong he continue to live on inside us to this day. I mean, maybe it's just me, but I think that if you insult Him, His echoes will be more than capable of spanking your tail on their own. He really doesn't you to be angry in His stead.

Fellis: At this rate, we will never finish little Ori's religious education...

Sein: Please don't look at me like that, my son. Let's carry on, okay? Okay. Let's carry on. So we have two more major celebrations. The Ritual of Renewal in spring and the Ceremony of Sleep, in fall. During the Ritual of Renewal, we bask into the Light as life returns to the land, winter ending and spring coming forth. "Do you cause the spring to come with your Light, mom?" Actually, no. The world has a natural cycle of four seasons in most parts of the world with a consistent duration. Or so it is, when Decay is not taking control of the world and causing the weather to go crazy. I do not actually bring the spring. Light has a natural flow to it, like rivers and streams, flowing through all of the land. It is why we put Spirit Wells where they are and why my wisps are at their locations. Light flows like water and it come and go, as is the will of Zion. "So the Ritual of Renewal is to welcome Light when it comes back?" Correct my son. The Light flow back into the Spirit Wells and wisps, gathering during winter, the land naturally draining of Light. When spring come, the Light flows back into the world. Through the Ritual of Renewal, we welcome it and embrace it. It is also customary to visit your loved ones and eat special food during that time, on top of the prayers. I've got several recipes that Naru might like to try out. "Ooooh! Sounds good!"

Eclair: Seriously. You are convincing your son to pray by promising him food. Prayer should be done for its own sake.

Sein: Stop insulting my faith! The special dinner is done because it's a happy day and everyone should be happy! The prayers are prayers. Beside, are you implying that my son don't enjoy the touch of Light?

Kiinae: This just isn't going to stop, isn't it?

Sein: "Mom? Can you tell me about the Ceremony of Sleep? I guess it's when the Light leave the world and life leave, winter coming?" You are so smart, Ori! Yes, that's exactly it!

Sefirot: That isn't difficult to figure out. You do not need to praise your child for managing a feat of logic any spirit past the age of early infancy can solve within five seconds.

Kiinae: How about you shut up, murder-tree? Go on, Sein.

Sein: The Ceremony of Sleep is similar. Only, we tell good bye to the Light. Of course, the flow of Light is not completely stopped during winter, it's merely slowed. You're feeling my Light well, my son? "Yes, mom. There's... hummm... a lot of prayers." It take a lot of time and care to care for the Light and for Zion's gifts. You are a part of this, your Light part of the great chain of Light, as as I am. He has gifted you with His Light. "Mom? You said that Zion answered your prayer when I... well... when I died. Does it mean... that...?" Yes, you owe your life to Him. "I would like to thank him for that. I mean, thank Him." And I thank Him for saving you every night. Bask in my Light, and inscribe those prayers deep into your heart-Light. Let us thank Him for the gift of life He has given both of us.

Eclair: That's it? No eclipse rituals? No blessings before consuming food or water? You two are barely honoring Zion at all!

Sefirot: No wonder your tribe suffered during the great Decay surge following the Great Storm. Zion has punished you heathens for your lack of faith. Your tribe, Sein, has paid the price for turning their backs on Him. Their deaths are tainting your Light. Divine punishment from on high, for the sins and debauchery of Nibel.

Sein: Murder-tree? I know that all tribes are meant to be united against Decay but after what you just said? May you petrify, your Light extinguished, and Shriek claiming your statue as a perch! May your forest go Blind and your tribe see their Spirit Tree wither! May the Decay claim your Light!

Sefirot: You would cast a stone in my direction when your tribe has been destroyed by your sins? You, the god of a land without life? You have no people, no hope. I should send my children to cut you down and bring Nibel back under the proper graces of the Light as per Zion's holy writ!

Sein: Try it and I'll send your children back as tiny, broken blood-covered saplings.

Sefirot: Your tribe is dead! You have no army! You think you can fight me on your own?

Sein: Are you threatening Nibel, murder-tree? Are you saying you're going to make war upon our own kind again?! Is this what you're threatening me with? War? Try it, you murderous, stone-hearted bastard! I'll break you into wood chips and spread your remains across Niwen's SIlent Woods!

Sefirot: You are unworthy! Your continued existence is an insult to all tribes! To all Spirit Trees! I should truly do it! Before your incompetence doom us as well!

Gesseritch: STOP! BY ALL THAT IS HOLY AND RIGHT, STOP! Did you all lose your damn minds?! Are you seriously threatening freakin' WAR over a bunch of insults over the Light sharing network?! No tribe has made war upon another tribe in centuries! No spirit has turned their weapons upon another spirit in an act of open warfare since the Great War! I refuse to see spirits shed the blood of other spirits for something as stupid as pride!

Sein: HE DARED TO INSULT MY CHILDREN! MY DEAD CHILDREN! THAT HEARTLESS BASTARD! MY CHILDREN! MY POOR CHILDREN...

Gesseritch: You're better than this, Sein. Better than him. Ori is to have a peaceful life. Remember your promise to yourself and to him. There has been enough death. Enough suffering. There are enough Ancestral Trees in Nibel.

Sein: "Mom. War? What is war? I... I..." ... what have I almost done. There there, Ori. Please, don't cry. "... what is war?" A word you don't need to know the meaning of. We just got a bit angry because of what he said. "What he said about you... it's wrong. And so mean! I..." I know. It's over. Let us all talk together and learn about one another. That's why we share Light. So we can all share things and be happy together, helping one another. "I would like that."

Garsia: Just as bloodthirsty as always, aren't you Sefirot? You have drunk too much of your children's blood.

Pupae XVII: He is intoxicated with it. Addicted to it. So much that he craves the blood of other Spirit Trees' children. He is no better than his predecessor.

Sefirot: I am not addicted to blood! I am not bloodthirsty! This world is corrupt! I am simply trying to bring Light to all of it!

Kiinae: Maybe you should think about your own Light first, murder-tree. If it's not a ball of stone that is broadcasting your Light, that is.

Sefirot: I was just saying that Nibel shouldn't be left to claimed by Decay! Nibel is close to Niwen and is in a strategic position! Should it fall, Shriek will have a staging ground to attack a large part of the world!

Sein: Nibel will not fall. Our tribe will be reborn. Ori, I'm going to cut you off for a little while, while I say something. "Oh, okay then." There. Ori is my Heir. He is my last son. Within him, the Light of Nibel lives on. The memories of our culture, of our people live on inside him. He has absorbed the Light. He has saved my life and through him, Nibel will be reborn. Our future is in his hands. I do not need you, Sefirot. Ori, does not need you. He is strong. And through him, Nibel will survive.

Sefirot: Oh? And do you intend him to be a Called? To replace you, for your sins?

Sein: I am still young as a Spirit Tree. I do not need him to be a Called. In time, I will teach him and he will master the Light within himself. Together, we shall tell the next generation and Nibel will be reborn. It will be rebuilt. We are down but we are not out. By my sacrifice and Kuro's martyrdom, Nibel lives on. Someday, our land will be filled with Light and life again. I do not need you or your children, Sefirot. I do not want you or your children, Sefirot. You, and all of your children, shall stay the hell away from Nibel and especially from my son. Do I make myself clear?

Sefirot: You were always too arrogant for your own good. A flawed Spirit Tree born of a Light consumed by Decay. For all that your Light may appear pure as a Spirit Tree, you were, and will forever be, corrupted and tainted by Decay, Sein. Your ultimate destiny shall never be peaceful rest entombed in wood. Decay will claim your Light and extinguish it forever, Sein of Nibel.

Sein: Curse me all you want. You are literally planted on your spot. After I finish teaching him how to read and write, I'll have Ori send you a postcard.

Sefirot: Whatever.

Sein: Alright, Ori, I'm reconnecting you. Are you feeling the Light, now? "Yes. What did you say? Why did you cut me off while you said it?" Just silly Spirit Tree stuff. Anyway, I am done. Do you still want to hear about the other lands' cultures, my son? "Yes. I'd love to!" Then let us listen.

Eclair: Ori, listen and know of the holy wisdom of Zion. Zion, first of the Spirit Trees, god and creator of the world, the will of Light itself. In the beginning, there was only darkness. Then the Light shaped into being the world. Spirits, mokis, gumon, groleks, great owls, and all other beings were blessed by the Light. And all was good, the world a shining self-evident monument of the eternal Light's perfection and love. But then, the darkness and void became jealous of the Light's magnificence. It wished to destroy the Light's achievements and build its own monument. A monument dedicated to destruction. Thus Decay was born and flowed into the world, introducing sin and evil into the world. It was then that Zion took physical form, the Light becoming embodied in the form of the first Spirit Tree. Zion the Almighty blessed spiritkind with His holy knowledge and shone His Light, guiding us to our destiny. Thus blessed, His vessel aged and faded as future generations of Spirit Trees now carry on His work in His name, as is His absolute will. His Light, eternal and everlasting, can be felt every time you embrace any form of Light for He is forever alive and all-powerful.

Sein: "Zion created the world?" No. Nobody really know how the world came to be. But we know that the world was already ancient by the time Zion lived. He dedicated His life to knowledge, inventing and creating the sacred gifts and knowledge that are the basis of our various tribes' civilization. But Decay has erased so much of our knowledge.

Eclair: Zion created the world, Ori.

Fellis: Can we please not restart this?

Sefirot: You heretics have so little stomach for the truth. How sad.

Eclair: I'm not listening... Anyway, as Zion is eternal and exist as the will of Light itself, we can sense His desires by connecting to the Light. He, and He alone can shine light upon our destiny and reveal to us what we are meant to do. Thus, we must honor Him and call to Him with prayer and gifts. Only by living a life of deep prayer and faith can we become one with His will and shine as he wish us to.

Sein: "Really?" Not really. Though fragments of His Light can be felt in the Light of every Spirit Tree as I said earlier, they are still just fragments. You don't want to become a fanatic. "Fanatic?" A spirit who is so utterly desperate to feel Zion's touch and hear His voice that they will interpret any sign and any flow in the Light as being His will. No matter how powerful Zion may have been, even though we feel Him to this day within the Light, you must never forget that He has departed this world long before any of us were born, His tree body having long withered. It is not a healthy to try and convince yourself that the simple echoes of your own Light whenever you pray are Zion's words. Zion cannot speak, dead as He is. We can feel parts of His will in vague ways when we are deep in prayer and reach out to the echoes of His Light but otherwise, it is not actually possible to hear Zion's voice per se. If somebody tell you they are hearing Zion's will directly, they are likely lying. "Oooooh. I see."

Eclair: Nonsense! Of course you do not hear Zion's will, you barely pray and honor Him! My tribe honor Him properly and thus, we are blessed by His holy vision. We achieve this by connecting with the Light far more deeply than you, for starters. While you barely pray, our tribe do so many times per day. Before every meal, we take in the Light and embrace it, blessing the gift of life that Zion share with us. Whenever the sun rise, we honor Zion's gift of warmth and light, little L, that He has given our world. His Light is everywhere and must be honored in all things. I act as a channel for His will, my tribe living by my roots, our villages always in sight of my Light. Thus, we are always connected.

Gesseritch: You're sheltered prayer mumblers, that's what you are. No wonder Zion say "nope" to most of your Called.

Eclair: ... we aren't doing anything wrong. I know our Called are not strong but we honor Him in everything we do. There is no reason He would be upset with us...

Sein: How about you honor Him by living as he intended our kind to be, rather than constantly bothering Him day and night? I don't know about you but if Ori prayed to me something like seven times a day, I would tell him to knock it off no matter how well-intentioned he might be. I picture that if they were capable of thought and speech, the echoes of His Light would likely tell you to tie your own shoe laces.

Eclair: What's shoe laces?

Kiinae: Polaris is quite recent and I am its first and only Spirit Tree for now. So we do not have a very long tradition or fancy temples. Our culture, on that point, is quite similar to Nibel's though we have more emphasis on holidays related to the shifting of seasons. Spring and fall are much shorter here and both summer and winter are extremely long, with the length of days and nights very noticeably changing. During the winter, I effectively replace the sun, using my Light to keep the plants and trees that my tribe cultivate alive. During the summer, the sun shine for so long that I actually do the opposite, sucking in the light with my Light to allow proper sleep for my children.

Sein: "Whoaaa! Spirit Trees can do that?" Yes, my son. It take a lot of effort and it's not easy but it can be done. Kiinae is the second oldest Spirit Tree in the world and her power match this fact. "She's even stronger than you, mom?" I am not afraid to admit yes, my son. "Oh..."

Fellis: Don't be like that, my boy! There's more to Spirit Trees than power. Sein shine brightly among us and this, even if she has only three wisps. It's not about the amount of Light you have, it's how you use it. I know, since I'm also a three wisps tree myself.

Kiinae: It's not just about the amount of wisps either. It's how much of the land's Light is connected. Sein may have just three wisps but those are incredibly powerful ones! Believe me, Ori, your mom is no slouch.

Sefirot: Yet she fell to Kuro like a newly born sprout becoming dinner to a goat.

Kiinae: You should have been introduced to a hungry goat as a sprout, murder-tree.

Sein: "Why do you all argue like this all the time? Can we just... continue?"

Fellis: Our land is one of the oldest in the world. Duniwel did not suffer the exterminations and extinctions other tribes did such as what Nibel suffered in the Blindness following the Great Storm. So we have a very large proportion of Combined Light bloodlines and a rich tradition related to it. This actually reflect in how we honor Zion and see Him. Zion granted the gift of Light to all spirits, not just for the purpose of making the world better but through our very veins, our very heart-Lights. And thus, we spread the Light for Him. We continue to infuse it further into the world and into life itself. Combining Light is not seen as a dirty or lesser form of birth here, it is embraced. Spirits contribute to spreading the Light just as much as the Spirit Trees. We even infuse that Light into other species and allow them to join us in romance and love. And from those unions, new breeds of spirits are born. I, myself, exist thanks to such unions. Through this sharing of the Light, every child of the Moon become a child of Zion. There is no separation between spirits and non-spirits. All of us... are children of Light.

Sein: "Woooow! I didn't know that was possible! And... Combining Lights?" Once you hit your thirteenth birthday, I will tell you Ori. But not yet. Please, not just yet. "But I wanna hear now! I heard a lot of weird things by now and I don't know what they mean!" All in due time, my child.

Fellis: Thus, in our lands, the tradition of Marriage is still alive. When two or more spirits or non-spirits fall in love, when their lives become intertwined and it become obvious their destiny is to experience life together, we organize great celebrations. The lovers are blessed by the Light, given the blessing of Zion through my Light. Those celebrations are happy moments, with most related beings coming and a huge party being made. Fancy foods are eaten, there's a dance, and during the ceremony proper, the lovers are dressed up too! We always try to invite people with knowledge of the art of cooking and then, we create a legendary Old World food: cake!

Sein: "Cake? What's cake, mom?" Something I hope you will someday experience. But no more than once. It has... devastating effects on the belly. "What do you mean by that, mom?"

Gesseritch: Isn't Ori's second mom supposed to be obese, Sein? Wouldn't he already know about such the dangers of abusing food?

Sein: Don't insult my son's other mother! "Yeah, it's not nice! ... though... I... guess she's kinda fat." Ori! "Sorry..."

Fellis: Apart from that, we have a few festivals during the summer. Though I'm not sure it count for the purpose of this discussion, especially given what it entails...

Sefirot: It absolutely does not. Please do not traumatize Sein's child with your disgusting traditions.

Sein: "Disgusting? Hey! That's not nice! I'm sure that festival is a fun one!"

Gesseritch: A fun festival? That's one way of looking at it, lad! Yes, it is very... fun. I enjoyed such festivals a lot! As did your mother! You absolutely will enjoy such festivals once you are older, lad! ;D

Sein: No. Just no. "When I'm older?"

Gesseritch: Once you start to feel your voice getting a bit deeper and your body feeling funny, especially a bit lower, you will be ready for your first Festival of Life!

Sein: Stop right there. "When my body feel funny?" Please. Let us just drop it.

Fellis: So... hummm...

Sefirot: I guess I am next.

Kiinae: Zion no!

Eclair: Zion no!

Gesseritch: Zion no!

Garsia: Zion no!

Pupae XVII: Zion no!

Fellis: Zion no!

Sein: Zion no! "Wow, you all said this at the same time!... why do I suddenly have a sinking feeling?" Because it's a bad thing, my son. Please, anybody else?

Garsia: Then I guess I shall explain my own culture.

Eclair: Do we really have to let Ori listen to a heretic?

Kiinae: Garsia may be a heretic by most standards but he is one of us and he deserve respect. Especially given how important the eight tribes are in keeping Decay sealed in Niwen. Beside, every tribe is heretical in some ways. Faith, like opinions, is a diverse thing.

Garsia: I am once more reminded how much nearly every single tree in the world suck up to Zion.

Sein: "I'm kind of confused, mom." Just remember that all of us have different beliefs. You should not hate different tribes because they see Zion differently or honor Him in different ways. We are all children of the Light.

Garsia: Zion did not create the world, as Sein indeed guessed. Rather, the world came from the union of the god of the heavens and the god of the ocean. From their union came the gods of the skies and earth. In turn, they became the basis of the gods of the seasons. And of course, there is Zion, the ascended god of Light and us, his children, the heirs and gods of each land, upholding the ancient covenant created between Zion and the gods of earth and skies.

Eclair: There aren't that many gods.

Garsia: Isn't each of us a god? Is it really that hard to believe that there would exist divine powers other than us? Powers beyond even us and Zion's Light? For all of the power of Light, it is but one of the many powers that exist within our world.

Eclair: Are we really going to let this heretic poison Ori's Light?

Sein: Your lack of faith and conviction shows, Eclair. A true believer should not be afraid of different opinions. A true believer is secure in their faith and knowledge. Beside, new points of view, even if heretical, means new ways of approaching the mysteries of the world and thus, potentially, new ways of honoring Zion and understanding His gifts. Curiosity is a virtue, one that Zion upheld above all else and that all spiritkind should embrace. And my little Ori is nothing if not curious. I also respect my son's intelligence. He is a smart kid and he will be able to judge for himself if he believe or not.

Garsia: Thank you. Now, our faith actually change a bit in the specifics from tribe to tribe. After all, I am the Spirit Tree of eight spirit tribes, all sharing the same land. So what I will give you is an abridged version. The supreme deities of the world are the gods of heaven and the ocean. One ruling the sea of stars beyond the skies, one ruling the deep seas beyond the land. The heavens rule the void, death, and grant order and meaning to the world. The oceans give life, movement, and rule over the material. They form the basis of existence. Their children, the gods of earth and skies, then shape the basic shapes of the world creating the visible and invisible matter of the world. Water as we understand it, warmth, the wind, the soil, all of the forces of the world. Then, enforcing the will of the heavens and bringing destiny upon the world, are the gods of the seasons. Each god is granted dominion over a number of aspects of the world. To prevent jealousy between gods, the god of the heavens has declared that each god shall be given a number of months each year in which they shall rule the world, thus creating the seasons.

Eclair: Pfft. And where do Zion and the Light fit in your fancy story?

Garsia: Patience. I am getting to it. But first, the seasons. The god of summer is the god of warmth and life. During his reign, the land fill with beautiful grass and fruit. The sun shine with his power and life flows. But if he ruled forever, the life would spill and exhaust the land. Thus come the god of fall. The god of fall rule over Decay and it is his will that the life brought by the god of summer dies and return to the earth, as a sacrifice to the higher gods. But the god of fall is only allowed a few months of rule and soon, the goddess of winter rise.

Sein: "God of fall ruling over Decay? Are you saying that this god of fall is the source of Decay?" Let him speak, Ori.

Garsia: The goddess of winter rule over sleep, the peaceful rest of death, and the cold. Under her role, the world become peaceful, silent, and the filled with the beauty of sleep. But such a harsh world is empty of life and would never be able to recover if she ruled forever. Thus, she leave the world under the control of the goddess of spring. The goddess of spring rule over the winds, over renewal, birth, and healing. The land heal under her rule but healing cannot last forever and once the land recovered, she hand it over back to the god of summer. And thus the cycle goes on. However, Light is neither visible or invisible matter and has no natural place in the cycle of nature. None of the gods knew how to handle it. And thus came the great battle between Zion and the god of fall.

Sefirot: How delightfully absurd.

Garsia: Zion, first Spirit Tree, wished to become the Light to become recognized by the gods. For the Light, and us, the living flesh of Light, to be taken into the great family of the gods and given a destiny by the gods of heavens. However, this created jealousy in the heart-Light of the god of fall, creator and ruler of Decay. As the ruler of an invisible force that become visible in its effects on life, the god of fall believed himself entitled to the Light, believing it his destiny to claim the Light and all of spiritkind as falling in his domain. Zion crushed that ambition and was recognized by the gods of the heavens as the god of Light, creating the chain of Light that every Spirit Tree is born from. Spirit Trees are the mortal gods of Light, upholding the ancient covenant with the gods of the heavens. As the thinking beings of the world, spirits are granted the permission through Light to borrow the power of the gods and use it to enforce the god of heavens' desires, bringing forth destiny. Zion is the bringer of Light and destiny and through His gift, spiritkind is ascended as the servants of the god of heavens.

Sefirot: As if Zion would ever bend the knee to anything...

Garsia: The god of fall never forgave Zion for this offense. The idea of gods who die of old age also convinced the god of fall that all of the Spirit Trees and by extension, all of spiritkind, are destined to be his slaves. Thus he attempt to bring forth eternal fall and rot upon the land, to punish us and make war upon us. The god of fall is not allowed to fight us directly, for he is bound by his role as the god of fall, under the rule of the god of heavens. And so, he create Monsters and bless Champions of Decay, such as Shriek, to act in his name and curse us for him. Through this conflict, the god of fall fight us over the Light, hoping to strip us of Zion's gift and force us into becoming the slaves of Decay, Light forever enslaved and chained to rot. The other gods cannot help us directly but they empower all Spirit Trees and spirits with their power. The wisps are the physical proofs of this bond, the gods granting us the power to fight back against the jealous god's attempt at twisting us into becoming his.

Sein: "That's a rather amazing story. Not sure I buy that but... it does make me wonder. Where does Decay come from?" That is an excellent question, my son. To say the truth, nobody really knows. We know that Zion sealed the source of it but other than that, nobody really knows much about the true nature of Decay.

Eclair: Isn't it obvious? Decay is rot. It's a natural part of the world. Things die and Decay naturally form.

Gesseritch: I don't know about you but decaying squirrels don't spontaneously reform into giant beasts that then spew golden sickly goo around and try to impale you with giant tentacles. Also, rot is just a force of nature. Decay is a malicious force that actively want to kill us all. Also, if Decay was just some force of nature, how would Zion have been able to seal the source of it, lad?

Eclair: Because Zion created the world and is powerful enough to do such feats that we would consider illogical!

Garsia: There exist many rituals, many rites. Each god need to be honored, appeased, and called upon in different ways. Yes, even the god of fall, god of Decay and our sworn enemy, must be treated with respect though of course, shamans must be especially careful about such rituals.

Sein: "Shamans?" Some cultures call priests by such a name, Ori. "Ooooh. Okay then."

Garsia: We believe that there exist more to Light than one think. That just as there are spirits born of the Light, there are spirits born from each of the gods. Magical entities, who honor their gods just as we honor ours, all within the destiny set by the god of heavens.

Sein: "Spirits not born of Light?"

Garsia: Spirits of the water. Spirits of the winds. Even such exotic ones as dark spirits, born of shadows and darkness.

Sein: Never saw any of those spirits in my life, actually. In fact, I found that Light could cover and explain every single sighting I saw of those so-called spirits. For example, those 'dark spirit' things I keep hearing about. What they really do is use their Light to bind the darkness and shadows to themselves and then use that. Seir, for example, may be a Spirit Tree with a wisp specifically born from a deep abyss filled with shadows but is still a Spirit Tree who shine with Light. "Ooooh?" Remember, Ori. I rule over waters, winds, and warmth with my Light. The Light is far more than it seems, it is one with all things.

Garsia: Believe what you wish.

Pupae XVII: Our tribe is not very religious. Rather, we have more of an emphasis on duty. I can't speak for Mellyn's tribe or any of the others who aren't speaking.

Gesseritch: Anybody else? ... anyone? No? Well, guess we have to face the music. Oh well.

Sefirot: It is my turn, yes. Finally.

Sein: "Mom, did you just shudder?" Nonsense, I am a tree. I cannot move. "But I thought..." Please, Ori. Just... sit down, okay? And remember, I'm right there. "Why are you saying that?... this is gonna suck, isn't it?" Ori, remember what I said about being positive in spite of knowing you're about to be punched in the face by destiny? "... it's gonna be one of those moments, isn't it?" Yes. "Do we really have to?" Well, now that you mention it, I could simply disconnect my Light and send you back home.

Sefirot: You allowed your son to hear the ramblings of the crazy idiot who see gods in puddles of water. It is only fair that he hear the holy writ of Zion from somebody who actually has accurate records of His will.

Gesseritch: Hey, murder-tree! How many times have those books been "clarified" and "reworded for clarity" over the millenia? :D

Sefirot: Bask into the true knowledge of Zion, Ori. Welcome His words into your heart-Light. Know the destiny of your people. Zion brought order to the chaos of the void, bringing forth Light and destiny, shaping our world and delivering us from Decay, the will of the void. We live and die by His mercy, every spirit's life a part of His plan for our world, as dictated by destiny. Spirit Trees are the divine gods and heralds of His will. Through us, we speak for Him, being gifted with a measure of control of the world so that we may make His plans come true. In turn, we birth His children, spiritkind, and guide them so that they may fulfill their destinies.

Sein: "So you think Zion created the world too?"

Sefirot: I do not think so, I know it to be true. Every spirit is born for a reason, to fulfill their destiny. We all know and agree upon this. But some of us falter in their duty. Though chosen by Zion to become Spirit Trees, you refuse to shine your Light and guide your spirits to the destiny. You let their Light be extinguished. You let them wander lost.

Sein: You can't see the future, murder-tree.

Sefirot: It is not about seeing the future, you tainted fool. A Spirit Tree is a god named by Zion to bear His Light. Through us, His will is made manifest! He guide our actions, our words, our thoughts! The word of a Spirit Tree is the word of Zion! Surely you must look at the world and know how it should be! You must look at your children and know what lives they should live! You need only reach out and enforce that will. You need to reach out and make it true! Bind the world to the Light! May Zion's will be done!

Kiinae: You mean, may tyranny be done. You confuse your megalomania for divine visions, murder-tree. Zion may have been a ruler but He wasn't a tyrant. He wanted us to shine on spirits and share with them His divine love. Not for us to chain them up and order them around like animals!

Sefirot: Without the Light, the world has no order. Without order, spirits are lost to the whims of Decay. Spirits must be led to their destiny. Thus, at birth, with the authority and divinity that Zion has gifted us, I look upon the world and assign to spirits their role in the world. After all, we know the life sequence of spirits, we know what they are meant to be.

Sein: That is a lie! We do not have such knowledge or control over spirit lives!

Sefirot: Didn't you modify Ori's life sequence personally after you were pollinated? Didn't you name him and make him the Light of Nibel?

Sein: Ori is my Heir. I do not do this for all of my children. Beside, I never intended him to become the Light of Nibel or to suffer as he did. I wanted him to have a peaceful, quiet life! "Mommy? Life of Nibel? Heir?"

Sefirot: Hypocrite. You have just announced that you chose a life for him. A peaceful life. It is the unique ability of gods to decide, to choose destinies for mortals and to direct them upon such paths. You chose a destiny for Ori and announced it. That Ori did not follow such a destiny is because you are weak, unworthy, and foolish. Your Light was unable to guide him along that destiny. The fault is yours. But you did seek redemption, however feeble your attempt. By fighting at his side, you have brought him back to the path you chose for him. Now, Ori live once more according to your divine will. Do you see, Sein? Do you understand? Spirits live by the destiny chosen by them by the Spirit Trees. Because of your weakness, Zion punished you and Decay almost took him for you, diverting him from the path. Cast away your weakness. Accept your role as a god and enforce your Light upon spiritkind.

Sein: You are wrong. It is nothing of the sort. I am not forcing Ori to be anything nor am I choosing any path for him. Every being in the world want a happy life. And that is simply what I wish for him. In time, Ori will find his destiny and it's not me, you, Seir, or anyone else who will dictate it for him.

Sefirot: I see you will not see reason on this point. Nonetheless, I shall now speak of the greater truth. Ori, hear me. Your tribe, your siblings, they did not have to die. Within a Spirit Tree is the Light of the entire Light, including all spirits. When a spirit is born, that Light come from the Spirit Tree, to be given shape, thought, and purpose. When that purpose is over, their Light should be returned to the Spirit Tree, so they may continue on and live forever as part of it. They should be exalted for their success, not left to rot and then abandoned to the Decay.

Sein: You know of Ancestral Trees, Ori. You felt them. You know he lies. You know that isn't the same as living. "... yes. I know, mom. I know..." Please, be strong, my son...

Sefirot: But then, what do your tribe know? Your tribe, prior to being killed, was made largely of Combined Light born, not unlike the heretics of Duniwel. Lesser Lights, born of fluid exchange, their heart-Light a result of two lesser Lights combining. Those are sad and lost spirits, born outside of Zion's plan, never to know the glory of destiny. Such spirits should be exalted, returned to the Spirit Tree as to be reborn as true spirits, Immaculate and divine in their nature!

Sein: Ori, he is lying. There is nothing wrong with being a Combined Light born. All of us have a place in the world. Once you come of age, I will tell you more, Ori.

Sefirot: Ori, you must have felt the call of destiny. You must know the truth, deep within your Light. You know I'm right.

Sein: "All I know is that you're really mean and remind me of Kuro. As in, when she was mad with rage. Except you sound like that all the time."

Sefirot: I am not mad with rage, Ori. I simply wish for all tribes to be united under the rightful rule of Zion's Light, as it was when He bloomed with life and Light. Haven't you understood anything, Ori? Listened to any of them? Heretics! Blasphemers! Nonsense about gods of earth and skies! Pagan festivals! Barely able to even agree on such a simple thing as how many times to pray per day! Or even about the role of Spirit Trees in the world! This world is filled with madness! It must be controlled!

Sein: "Why won't you let everyone live in peace? They're not hurting you!"

Sefirot: Peace? You call this chaos peace?! When those fools allow Decay to stampede over the land? When spirits wander the dark, never to fulfill their destiny? When spirits meekly bow down to gumon, groleks, mokis, and other such inferior beings allowing them to defile the sacred gifts of Zion? Life is wasted upon those fools and Zion express His displeasure almost daily through divine punishment! How can you not see His anger, Ori? The world needs to be controlled! Spirits need to be controlled! Mortals need to be controlled! Spirit Trees, such as I, are the voice of Zion, of the very Light! This very world exist by the power of our Light! It exist for the purpose of destiny, as dictated by us! Spirits exist to serve us! My tribe exist to serve me! And you, Ori, you were born to serve Sein!

Sein: I did not birth Ori for him to be a slave!

Sefirot: And if you will let him slip away from your grasp, then do not complain when someday, another Spirit Tree shall do what you are too weak to do and give Ori a new destiny! If you will not be the vessel of the Light, Sein, then Zion shall name a new, worthier vessel!

Sein: "I'm done hearing you insult mom. Do we really need to listen to him?" No, my son, we do not. Well, I'd like to stay and chat but I and my son must diverge from destiny by doing something as frivolous and sinful as spending some time together happily. Oh and by the way, murder-tree? Here's a reminder for you. Stay the hell away from my son.

>> Sein has left the chat room.

Eclair: Well, that went well.

Fellis: At least this didn't end with a second Great War starting?

Sefirot: I am feeling merciful today. I shall not smite you all.

Garsia: Please. The eight tribes fear you not. My ancestors fought you and banished your feeble warriors from our lands. We heard their loved ones lamenting over the Ancestral Trees from here.

Sefirot: How dare you, you primitive!

Gesseritch: Oh boy. This is gonna end in tears, I can see it from here.

Eclair: I don't like this! Ori shouldn't have been told about those stupid gods of the sky! What if he start getting the wrong ideas and become a heretic?

Gesseritch: Ori will believe whatever he bloody wants, sprout boy.

Eclair: But that is wrong! He will not be honoring Zion correctly! He will not live with the correct faith, as is the desire of Zion!

Sefirot: But that wouldn't be the correct faith, isn't it? You are weak, needing us to constantly tell you how to be a god, and you constantly admit to being unworthy. You cannot see destiny. You are nothing but a glorified talking plant pretending to be a Spirit Tree.

Eclair: You lie! You are a murderer! Your spirit sacrifices offend Zion! You are bloodthirsty and heartless!

Pupae XVII: Can we not?

Eclair: You don't even have any faith! How you're even a Spirit Tree at all, I can't understand!

Pupae XVII: How dare you?! I honor Zion just as much as anybody else!

Gesseritch: Now now, please stop. This is all unnecessary.

Eclair: Shut up! You took root by a cliff because you didn't want spirits living by your roots! That's just wrong! Spirits need to live near their Spirit Tree to bask in Zion's Light! Because of you, all your tribe live far from His Light! How dare you?!

Gesseritch: Careful boy, you don't want me to get angry!

Fellis: This is getting out of control.

Sefirot: You wench need to be educated! But then you are a rotten tree, born of tainted flesh, surrounded by sinful creatures only half-made of Light! No wonder your land is a barely fertile swamp! You shame all Spirit Trees!

Fellis: Why you little-! Shut up shut up SHUT UP!

Garsia: The gods of the skies curse you forever, Sefirot!

Gesseritch: Oh shut up with your dumb imaginary gods!

Garsia: They are NOT IMAGINARY! You infidels never understood anything about anything! Heretics! All of you!

Fellis: Heretics, us?! When your Light is so cold and heartless?! Your Lights are barely shining!

Eclair: May Decay claim you all!

Kiinae: ... this... is absolutely getting out of control.

Pupae XVII: Shut up, sprout muncher! Acting all high and mighty when your culture barely even exist! Spirit Tree of a wasteland! Light of a patch of ice!

Kiinae: Polaris is more than a patch of ice!

Eclair: None of you know how to honor Zion! NONE!

Gesseritch: How about you say that to my face, huh? HUH?! If I wasn't rooted to the spot, I'd absolutely throttle your pathetic prayer mumbling face into the ground, you worthless milksop!

Sefirot: Blah blah blah! Here comes Gesseritch, master of running his mouth! I would smite you in seconds, inferior being!

Gesseritch: I'd love to see you try! If you weren't a tree already, I'd absolutely make a tree out of you. Hell, Hilldin might even make a national holiday out of it!

Kiinae: Polaris is not just a patch of ice! We have a rich tradition!

Garsia: Ah! An empty wasteland that barely got any Light, or even know any of the gods! Your tribe is a joke! You are a joke!

Pupae XVII: Stop insulting my friend! I hate you!

Garsia: You were always a weakling leading weaklings who needed to bury Decay's soldiers in numbers to survive! If your warriors weren't so weak, maybe we would have held better against Decay and we would have been able to send reinforcements to Nibel!

Pupae XVII: I ALMOST DIED THEN! My children died!

Garsia: BECAUSE YOU WERE WEAK!

Fellis: STOP INSULTING MY FRIEND, YOU PAGAN PIECE OF TERMITE-RIDDEN JUNK!

Sefirot: YOU ARE ALL INFIDELS!

Gesseritch: MAY YOU ALL TURN TO STONE AND YOUR LIGHTS BE EXTINGUISHED!

Eclair: MAY SHRIEK PERCH ON YOU AND DEVOUR YOUR CHILDREN!

Kiinae: MAY DECAY'S CHILDREN CLAIM YOUR LANDS!!

Sefirot: FOOLS! HERETICS! BLASPHEMERS! MAY DECAY DAMN YOU ALL!

Fellis: PETRIFIED HEARTLESS MONSTERS!

Garsia: THE GODS CURSE YOU ALL!!

>> Seir has entered the chat room.

Seir: **WHAT. THE. HELL. IS GOING ON. IT IS LIKE THE SKIES ARE HAVING A SEIZURE FROM ALL OF THE LIGHT YOU LOT ARE THROWING AROUND.**

Eclair: Oh. Hi Seir.

Gesseritch: Well, you see, we had a tiny bit of an argument. You see, it simply happen that Sefirot DOES DESERVE TO LIVE AND SHOULD BE DAMNED BY DECAY and I'm just about to go mad with rage and go cave in his face. I'm a Spirit Tree but I don't care. I'll somehow march all the way up to Hilldin and cave in his face.

Kiinae: Polaris is not just a patch of ice!

Seir: **WHATEVER ARGUMENT YOU ARE HAVING IS IRRELEVANT. WHAT MATTERS IS THAT IT ENDS. THE SKIES LOOK AS IF THEY WERE FILLED WITH DISCO BALLS INSTEAD OF CLOUDS. THERE ARE MOKIS FALLING TO THE GROUND FOAMING AT THE MOUTH FROM SEIZURES OF LOOKING AT YOUR INFANTILE ARGUING.**

Eclair: What's a disco ball?

Sefirot: Irrelevant? This world is filled with madness! It needs to be controlled!

Fellis: You need to be controlled, you stone-hearted murderer!

Seir: **CEASE AND DESIST. WHAT YOUR ARGUMENT IS, IS COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT. THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS IS THAT IT ENDS. I AM TRYING TO CONCENTRATE AND THE THE SIGHT OF THE SKIES BEING A RAINBOW-COLORED KALEIDOSCOPE ON CRACK IS BREAKING MY FOCUS. ALSO, WHERE ARE MY CALLED. IT IS EXTREMELY URGENT. I HAVE BEEN ASKING FOR MANY YEARS, NOW.**

Gesseritch: Hmmm... Seir... well... we're working on it?

Seir: **WHERE. ARE. MY. CALLED.**

Sefirot: I have birthed one. It will be ready soon. As in, in about four years.

Seir: **GOOD. AT LEAST ONE OF YOU IS NOT COMPLETELY INCOMPETENT. NOW, IF YOU EXCUSE ME, I HAVE A LAND TO MANAGE AND DECAY TO FIGHT. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND YOU ALSO RETURN TO YOUR DUTIES INSTEAD OF CHILDISHLY FIGHTING LIKE A BUNCH OF NEWBORNS OVER A PIECE OF FRUIT.**

>> Seir has left the chat room.

Fellis: ...

Kiinae: ...

Eclair: ...

Garsia: ...

Pupae XVII: ...

Gesseritch: ... has Seir just implied that Sefirot is the only one here acting in a competent manner?

Sefirot: Well, you do know that Seir is very near death. Niwen does need a Called. I know that none of us like her... but Niwen does need a new Spirit Tree. And urgently. You do have your own Called ready soon, right? ... right? Please tell me you have Called ready soon.

Fellis: Errrrrrrr... hummmmm...

Kiinae: Well, you see...

Gesseritch: Oooooh! Oh yeah! That! I... do... have... one... ready soon?

Eclair: I'm too far from Niwen for it to matter?

Sefirot: ... I think I don't need to comment on this. The reality of the situation speak for itself. :D

Kiinae: Did Sefirot just use a smilie.

Fellis: I think he did.

Pupae XVII: ... I think part of my Light went out just now.

Eclair: No. Just. Just... no.

>> Eclair has left the chat room.

\---

No. No way. Sefirot can't have come off as the only sane one in the chat room. Sefirot is... Sefirot is Sefirot! It's impossible! It's just impossible! This is crazy! He is going insane. He must purge this conversation from his mind and forget all about it. It is the only way. Yes, he must purge all of it. He must remove all memories of this day from his Light. His sanity depend on it!

...

Huh. Seir is... dying? In need of a Called? What was that about? Isn't Seir supposed to be immortal? She's older than even Kiinae by orders of magnitude! But what about... what...

Wait. Seir. She sound like dozens upon dozens of voices, layered on top of one another. Isn't that a bit like Seelin's voice but more... extreme... somehow...

...

Why do everyone dislike Seir? Why is everyone always becoming quieter when she show up?

No. No. Noooo.

Forget. He must forget. His sanity demands it.


	12. Eclair, hero of legend and renown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If you cannot move, spend your day pretending you can move!
> 
> ... put like this, Spirit Tree life really is quite sad.

Eclair was by now familiar with his arch-nemesis as a Spirit Tree, the dreaded force known as boredom. Once again, his tribe were living their lives, not needing him in any way and thus leaving him completely alone. There wasn't even any need for him to really preside over any significant prayer sessions.

Unfortunately, this meant that he had to once again connect to the Light sharing network lest he go insane. Well, go insane faster than he is already going mad.

How did Zion manage it, when he was the lone Spirit Tree in the world? His divine willpower must have been absolutely unbelievable.

\---

>> Eclair has joined the chat room.

Sein: Are you sure we can't start? I've been looking forward to this for two weeks!

Kiinae: So who's gonna be the GM anyway? Wasn't it gonna be Gesseritch?

Sefirot: Hey! You all said it was going to be me!

Fellis: No no! It's my turn!

Sefirot: And have you introduce combining Lights-related scenarios and then describe them in detail? No way! I am clearly the only one fit for being GM.

Seir: **WHY I EVEN AGREED TO BE HERE, I WILL NEVER KNOW. AND IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A NEUTRAL PARTY TO BE GAME MASTER, I AM CLEARLY MORE FIT.**

Sein: Pffft. Your narration is about as dry as a salt desert. Also, I don't feel like having a headache. Your voice is thirty-one voices layered on top of one another.

Mellyn: Please tell us that we won't have to name murder-tree as GM again.

Eclair: ... what's going on here.

Pupae XVII: Ah! The young one! You have excellent timing! Would you like to be the GM of our fine game?

Kiinae: He doesn't know the rules or even what we're doing at all. Do you want a repeat of when that rando got named GM? I dunno, that Petunia girl?

Sein: Oh Zion no. I remember that session. Dumbest session we had.

Fellis: It was hilarious though!

Sefirot: I am clearly most fit as GM and you all know it. Positions of authority fit me naturally, even in entertainment.

Eclair: GM? What?

Mellyn: Did you ever roleplay as a spirit, Eclair?

Eclair: Roleplay? I know what is a role and what is playing. But the way your Light curved, I felt like you meant the two words as a single term and that confuse me.

Fellis: Yeeeep. He's not GM for sure. Hey, cutie! Wanna play with us? ;3

Sefirot: Please don't restart flirting with anything and anyone, Fellis.

Sein: We are all preparing to do something known as roleplaying. Basically, we all pretend we're characters in some epic tale and we try to adventure our way through the scenario! Also, where's Gesseritch when we need him?

>> Gesseritch joined the chat room.

Gesseritch: Missed me, babe?

Sein: Ah! Finally! Gesseritch!

Fellis: Whoo! He's here!

Kiinae: Ah! Good! Finally...

Gesseritch: Whoa. They're all over me. I knew you ladies appreciated my presence but you should calm down. There's enough of me for each and everyone of you ;)

Sein: GESSERITCH! Why you-! We didn't mean it that way! You're late! You promised you'd be here for the game!

Gesseritch: I know plenty of games we can play, babe!

Kiinae: GM role. Are you gonna do it or not, Gesseritch?

Gesseritch: That was my intention but then I realized it would mean I wouldn't be able to play as my super awesome, amazing, coolest character. Seriously. This is gonna be epic.

Fellis: We're gonna have Sefirot as the GM again. Great.

>> Seelin has joined the chat room.

Sein: What. What is that THING doing in the network at this time of the day?

Gesseritch: Oh. My enthusiasm has just taken critical damage.

Eclair: Uuuuugh...

Seelin: Hi there you love doves! It's me! ^v^ I should be sleeping at this time but I heard today is the great roleplay game and so I connected to join in!

Eclair: So long as you don't talk about... you know...

Seelin: By the way, how are things in Nibel? Did anything cute with Ori lately? ;)

Sein: Oh, hi there. I dream of you, you know. Yes. They're pretty pleasant. And involve me, being able to move, an axe, and your trunk. You make a satisfying noise when you fall.

Seelin: Still in the closet? It's okay. I'm here for the roleplay session anyway. The Great Ash Tree was looking forward to it too!

Sefirot: We are not letting you have multiple characters just because you are insane and got multiple personalities.

Seelin: I'm not mad! Beside, don't you all have Spirit Trees too? You should let them participate!

Eclair: I'm not sure I want to be here anymore.

Seir: **JUST NAME SEFIROT AS THE GAME MASTER AND START THIS ALREADY. I HAVE LIMITED FREE TIME.**

Eclair: Wait? You have fun once in a while?

Sein: Gesseritch's idea.

Seir: **IT FOSTER TRUST AND COOPERATION BETWEEN THE SPIRIT TREES OF THE WORLD. BESIDE, I AM THE BEST MULTI-TASKER IN THE ENTIRE WORLD.**

Sein: Whatever. So who's GM?

Leim: How about me? I'm totally the best!

Gesseritch: And lose you as a contribution to the party? Ah! Nah. You're far too hilarious.

Leim: If you mean hilarious in the awesome way, absolutely!

Kiinae: Sein, fifty crysts that he lose five characters in today's session.

Sein: Seventy crysts that he lose more than five.

Leim: Ladies of little faith! Just watch me!

Mellyn: Maybe I can be the GM?

Pupae XVII: I do admit it might be a nice compromise. Isn't Mellyn capable of being quite imaginative?

Gesseritch: Aye! Go on and be our GM, hat-wearing lass!

Mellyn: That's not funny! I hate having my roof stuck on my branches...

Garsia: We should totally include Mellyn's house as an optional encounter in our game. As the toughest boss in the game, of course.

Gesseritch: You fool! We can't include Mellyn's house as an enemy! That would break suspension of disbelief! After all, how could we possibly stand a chance against such an incomprehensibly powerful foe? The setting would instantly become a dark, depressing, bleak place! No no.

Sefirot: Wasn't I meant to be the GM?

Eclair: I'm confused...

Mellyn: You shone your Light because you're bored, right? You can join in, Eclair.

Eclair: Huh? And what do I need to do?

Sein: You need to come up with a character. But first of all, let's do a refresher. Do the honors, Mellyn. If you manage it, you're picked as GM.

Mellyn: Alright! Here I go! On the amazing world of Earth, there is that forest known as Europe. It is a strange forest, filled with stone structures and where spirits move about in boxes that move on their own!

Garsia: This is stretching my suspension of disbelief. Also, 'Earth'? Seriously? What kind of name for a world is that?

Sefirot: Oh dear. It's one of those worlds with stupid fantasy races, isn't it?

Mellyn: They're not stupid! I got this really fascinating concept there! Some kind of monkey-like species but upright like a spirit, no antennas, tail, or fur. Instead they walk around in amazingly fabulous clothes!

Sefirot: Let me guess, they have some kind of really stupid name like "Kee-chi" or "hoo-mah" or something dumb like that. Not interested.

Mellyn: Please give my setting a chance... ;n;

Pupae XVII: Maybe try someone else as GM?

Mellyn: No no! I've got it. So there is this bleak world filled with spirit-sized bugs and they're all masked. Everything is kinda petrified like in a Decay-filled world but that's okay because they have their own little amazing forest made of petrified things. Instead of Light, they use something known as Void! Oh and there's this king guy of the forest, Pale King dude. I inspired myself from Seir but I made him nicer!

Seir: **HOW CHARMING.**

Sefirot: Let me guess, the Light is evil and you have some Spirit Tree rebel who fell in love with that Pale King dude. How delightfully edgy and dumb.

Mellyn: Errrr...

Sein: Look, how about we just use something sane and less out there? Something closer to what we know?

Mellyn: You don't wanna hear about my other idea with the cute equines that are all rainbow-colored in a land of friendship and rainbows and happiness?

Eclair: I am feeling embarrassed merely hearing about this idea.

Gesseritch: Oh my! Equines? I heard that equines are naturally gifted and are very, very large! I approve of this idea!

Mellyn: Wha-WHAT? No! No! Just no! Fine fine! We'll have a dumb story with a dumb common forest involving normal characters, are you happy now?

Kiinae: Gesseritch is in our group. By default, we will not be having normal characters.

Gesseritch: And Kiinae is in the group! Thus our character line-up will have 200% more goatyness in it!

Kiinae: You are an idiot.

Sein: Let's just get started already.

Mellyn: Anyway, do you all have your character sheets ready?

Eclair: Character sheets?

Sein: A Light that contain information on what your character will be. Stuff like species, gender, personality, what their special talents and abilities are, what not.

Eclair: Ooooh! Wait, that sounds like a life sequence. Hmmm...

Gesseritch: Naaah. I know what you're thinking and the answer is nah. No matter how cool your spirit kid idea may be, you will be dreadfully disappointed if you make a real life sequence out of it and inject it into one of your pollinated flowers. Believe me, the effects are underwhelming. Alternatively, they end up spectacular! But in a rather less than awesome manner. Just ask Leim!

Leim: Please don't.

Eclair: Huh? What happened?

Sein: Tried to make kids that have ten times the Light power of normal spirits and are, like, awesome and stuff. When Leim shown them off, they sure turned out... errrr... impressive.

Gesseritch: Never saw a kid turn themselves into a tree this fast, that's for sure!

Leim: I don't always fail at everything, you know...

Sein: Your forest is almost entirely made of Ancestral Trees, Leim.

Leim: That's not true! We have some trees that are actually just normal plant trees! Like... hmmm... yeah, we have some oaks! And a few willows over there!

Sein: Stop digging yourself in deeper, Leim.

Kiinae: How about we talk about something else than Leim's kids exploding or turning into trees?

Fellis: Leim and his tribe are a rather amazing source of black comedy. Though I wonder how come they're not extinct if they turn into trees in droves like this all the time.

Gesseritch: Easy, my lady! Leim over there take it up his flowers just as much as he used to as a spirit! :D

Eclair: Errr... wut.

Leim: Please don't joke about my spirit days like this...

Fellis: How would you know that kind of thing about him, Gesseritch? NO! Wait! Don't answer that! Aw, geez! I already broadcasted my Light!

Gesseritch: Indeed, and now you must suffer through my exploits! For you see, while I was and still am quite the ladies male, just ask Sein, I was so utterly amazing that even males couldn't get enough of Gesseritch! Just ask Leim over there. He was soooo cute! And high-pitched! If you petted him on the ears in just the right way, he would end up squeaking like a mouse!

Sein: I hope you get uprooted and thrown into a lake, Gesseritch.

Leim: I hope a sudden gust of wind break off half your branches, Gesseritch.

Eclair: Whoa! They both insulted him at the same time! In a similar manner! Do Leim have a history with Gesseritch like Sein does?

Leim: NO! I DO NOT!

Sein: Also there is no history between me and Gesseritch! Beside the history of me beating him up for being an idiot!

Gesseritch: Love you too, Sein! :D

Leim: You see things where there are none. You're as insane as Seelin!

Gesseritch: Oh, sorry for forgetting you. Love you too, Leim! ^v^

Seelin: I'm not insane, I'm just a romantic. And I'm sitting there, on top of my tree, just watching you all. It's so adorable!

Seir: **AT THIS RATE, THIS ROLEPLAY SESSION WILL NEVER BEGIN. YOU CANNOT EVEN MUSTER THE FOCUS NECESSARY TO ENTERTAIN YOURSELVES CORRECTLY. HOW ABSURD.**

Sefirot: Indeed, they are quite lacking.

Seir: **MY OBSERVATION ALSO INCLUDED YOU, SEFIROT OF HILLDIN.**

Sefirot: Errrrrrrr...

Eclair: As much as I don't like to agree with Seir. Can we just get started?

Gesseritch: As soon as your character sheet is done, sprout boy!

Eclair: I'm the Spirit Elm! I've not been a sprout since... gah! Nevermind. So... hummm... how do I do this?

Sein: Here, let me connect with you and help.

Eclair: Oh? Sure!

>> Eclair has left the chat room.

>> Sein has left the chat room.

Sefirot: Here they go. And to think I freed time in my schedule for this moment and then this happens...

Seelin: Well, while they're gone, how about we all discuss some nice things? So, Fellis? How is the Beautiful Maple?

Fellis: Huh? Well, I feel good lately. Why?

Seelin: No, not you! The Beautiful Maple! The spirit that became your partner! ;)

Fellis: Oh right, you're insane. Hummm... errr... both sides of me are feeling great. Do you want a conversation with my imaginary friend?

Seelin: An imaginary friend? Are you sure they are imaginary? Maybe they're just waiting for you to listen to them!

Garsia: A spirit should never absorb the Light of so many other spirits. She is completely possessed.

Seelin: Oh! I knew someone else would understand! Yes, I am not alone. I will never be alone again.

Seir: **THIS IS PURE NONSENSE. YES, YOUR HOST IS NOT THE SAME AS YOUR HEART-LIGHT. HOWEVER THIS IS A RESULT OF YOUR CONSTANT MERGES, IT IS NOT A PROCESS INHERENT TO ASCENSION. EVERY MERGE RESULT IN THE PERSONALITY, MEMORIES, AND BEING OF THE SPIRITS INVOLVED TO BECOME ONE. THEY BECOME ASPECTS OF A WHOLE. ANY INDIVIDUALITY ONLY EXIST THROUGH SEPARATION OF LIGHT AND EVEN THEN, THE LIGHTS WILL EVENTUALLY BLEED INTO ONE ANOTHER AND MERGE INTO A COHERENT WHOLE OVER TIME. YOU CLEARLY HAVE LOST SIGHT OF WHO YOU ARE IN YOUR MERGES.**

Seelin: Oh I know perfect what I am! Aren't you the same anyway? You had so many lovers through the millenia...

Seir: **I AM THE ETERNAL LIGHT. I DO WHATEVER IS NECESSARY TO PERPETUATE THE EXISTENCE OF A SPIRIT TREE WITHIN NIWEN. YOUR INSINUATIONS ARE NEITHER APPROPRIATE OR ACCURATE. WE ARE NOTHING ALIKE.**

Gesseritch: Are you sure, Seir?

Seir: **THE ONLY REASON I BOTHER WITH THIS NONSENSE IS BECAUSE YOU MADE IT A CONDITION FOR SENDING YOUR CALLED. I STILL CANNOT BELIEVE YOU WOULD BE READY TO LET THE WORLD FALL TO DECAY THAN COOPERATE.**

Kiinae: There are levels of survival we are ready to accept if it means not having to become like you, Seir.

Pupae XVII: Can we not? I thought everybody had agreed to never talk about Seir...

>> Eclair has joined the chat room.

>> Sein has joined the chat room.

Mellyn: That didn't take too long.

Sein: I do have my Light packages all organized and ready for sharing! Beside, Eclair was quite cooperative and had a good idea of what he'd play as.

Mellyn: Alright. So, everyone? Let's review our characters first.

Sein: A warrior-priestess, with a desire to spread the blessings of the Light, love, and justice. She kick tail and look fabulous as she do so.

Sefirot: Really. Let me guess. Completely consumed by Decay from a tainted birth and foolishly thinking that a global pilgrimage will redeem her. Also, her name is "Sein".

Sein: May your your children salt the soil you took root in, murder-tree. Also no. Her name is Serenity.

Eclair: Hummm... err... alright. Maybe I should stop this from becoming one of our usual arguments by bringing up my character? I didn't have much in the way of ideas but Sein told me it was alright so... well... it's a priest guy. He like the Light and being a good guy. Not overly athletic but very enthusiastic. A bit sheltered.

Fellis: Remind me of a certain sheltered cutie!

Eclair: Why do you keep calling me cute?

Sein: I've waited for this for so long. Can we please no ruin this?

Sefirot: My character is Lord Lucien Lightbringer of the Order of the Morning Star, paladin of great renown and servant of the Light.

Garsia: Paladin? What's a paladin?

Sefirot: A warrior who is specifically blessed by divine Light and empowered by it, acting on a code of honor, spreading the blessings of the Light and fighting its enemies.

Sein: You could have just said a warrior-priest.

Sefirot: Paladins are far superior to mere warrior-priests! They are directly infused with Light and act out divine will! They are the instruments of the divine! Their code of honor ensure that every action makes them the hands, eyes, and voice of the Light!

Sein: Just like a warrior-priest.

Sefirot: You ignoramus! You are conflating two different things! Your ignorance shine so brightly it is blinding me!

Seelin: Can I go on about my character now? Oooooh, they're so cute! You'll love them!

Sein: If it distract you from making disgusting comments, yes, do go for it. Also, it will shut up murder-tree so win-win.

Kiinae: You jynxed it, Sein...

Seelin: My character is the monk Amora, mastering the physical arts and how to become one with Light. A romantic at heart, seeking to embrace the Light and help others also do so. A friend of all the forests, never rising her fist in anger but more than capable of driving back Decay. She like to play matchmaker for Lights and spirits!

Sein: Oh no...

Mellyn: Errrr... Gesseritch?

Eclair: Please save us.

Gesseritch: My character is the humble fruit gatherer Bob, who lived in a small tribe by a young, rather small Spirit Tree in the northern regions. One day, he became fascinated by small items brought by a trader from a different land and decided to travel. He isn't particularly strong, impressive, or hold much Light but he has his heart-Light in the right place and he has a knack for thinking outside the box when faced with problems.

Sefirot: ... wut.

Mellyn: ... errrrr... whaaaa?

Kiinae: ... that's it. My mind has snapped. I knew it would happen someday.

Eclair: ... nothing make sense anymore.

Garsia: ... gods of the earth and sky... **WHY.**

Fellis: ... my poor, poor sanity. Why, Gesseritch, why? I was fine before, when I was sane and the world made sense.

Pupae XVII: ... my heart-Light must be starting to rot, now. That would explain it. I'm not really here. I'm just hallucinating that I'm here because I'm dying.

Seelin: Oh, so I am actually insane. All of you were right all along. That's okay, I still love you Seelin, even if you're mad. Thank you, Great Ash Tree.

Sein: I think the latest rain in my land must have had some rather potent hallucinogens in it.

Seir: **IT IS THE ONLY LOGICAL EXPLANATION. YES. DECAY MUST HAVE FILLED RAIN CLOUDS ALL THROUGH THE WORLD WITH POTENT DRUGS. IT MAKE SENSE, NOW.**

Gesseritch: Pffft, why are you all so shocked? If I made something that was even remotely a fraction as awesome as I was, you would never get an opportunity to shine! Beside, I always wondered how it felt to be not be the most awesome thing in the world.

Seir: **IT IS CLEAR THAT I MUST ACT BEFORE OUR COLLECTIVE SANITY COLLAPSE. THEREFORE, HERE IS MY CHARACTER. AN ORPHAN FROM A DEAD SPIRIT TREE, BORN IN A DEAD LAND RAVAGED BY DECAY, RAISED BY PETRIFIED MOKIS, HAVING KNOWN NOTHING BUT THE RAIN, THE COLD, AND THE HATRED OF DECAY HER ENTIRE LIFE. ALL HER FRIENDS WERE KILLED BY MONSTERS AND NOW SHE DEDICATE HERSELF ONLY AND ONLY TO THE DESTRUCTION OF DECAY AND ITS AGENTS. SHE IS THE VENGEFUL LADY. SHE IS THE LIGHT THAT WILL VANQUISH THE DARKNESS! SHE IS THE DESTROYER OF EVIL. SHE WILL DO EVERYTHING AND ANYTHING TO BRING FORTH JUSTICE TO THE WORLD. NO MATTER THE COST!**

Sein: Ooooow! Geez! The edge! That character is so edgy I think I felt it saw off some of my branches!

Gesseritch: What a delightful little edgelord. I never thought you had it in you, Seir! What is she called?

Seir: **HER NAME IS RESI.**

Gesseritch: Boooo-ring! Her name shall therefore be Bloodkill the Edgy.

Seir: **NO. HER NAME IS RESI...**

Sein: Alright, so Seir's character is Bloodkill the Edgy. Got it.

Fellis: Bloodkill the Edgy? I guess we can roll with that.

Pupae XVII: Never expected Seir to make a character that is, well, as dark and edgy as Bloodkill.

Seir: **MY CHARACTER IS NOT... FINE. FINE. BLOODKILL THE EDGY IT IS. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?**

Pupae XVII: Oh! Oh! Is it my turn yet? Is it my turn yet?

Mellyn: Go ahead, Pupae.

Pupae XVII: Pupae XVII! Pupae was my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grand-mother.

Sein: Errr... your character?

Pupae XVII: Oh right. My character is a great warrior whose life sequence was specifically written by her Spirit Tree specifically to fight evil! She trained her entire life to do this! She is known as Decay Monster Face Puncher 9001!

Sein: ... this is even dumber than Seir's character. Seriously. How did you manage that.

Eclair: That name made me prematurely wilt. It's just that bad.

Gesseritch: That got to be the most epic name I ever heard. Indeed! I've never seen a name fail in such an epic manner at trying to sound cool.

Pupae XVII: Errr... then how about Combat 55106?

Sein: That is even dumber. How did you manage it?

Kiinae: Maybe you should let me help?

Pupae XVII: No no! I got it I got it! Smiter XV? How about Decay Crusher Fifty-five?

Sein: Stop. Just... stop.

Garsia: How can somebody be possibly this bad at giving names?

Gesseritch: Pupae XVII! Giver of lame names!

Pupae XVII: I am NOT that terrible at naming things!

Sefirot: Oh yeah? Then what's the name of the main spirit hive by your roots?

Pupae XVII: Hive?

Sefirot: And the one right next to it?

Pupae XVII: New Hive. What's your point?

Eclair: Maybe somebody else should name Pupae XVII's character?

Gesseritch: Warrior-schmurrior. Let's call your character Knight. Because knights are cool.

Eclair: What's a knight?

Sein: Some idiot thing Gesseritch made up.

Gesseritch: Pfft, you just didn't travel far enough to run into them!

Sein: Knights aren't real no matter how much you want them to be.

Gesseritch: They absolutely exist! They're an order of badass heroes who ride animals into battle!

Sein: And there you have it. Who would be insensitive enough to risk an animal's life in such an useless manner? Fighting Decay alone is hard enough, doing it while riding a poor terrified thing that lack a spirit's inherent resistance to corruption? No way.

Mellyn: Alright, guess your character is now called Knight, Pupae XVII.

Pupae XVII: I can't believe this! Why were my names rejected when you all accepted Gesseritch's character name? He named his character BOB for Zion's sake!

Sein: That's because that's actually a real name that real people give to real things?

Pupae XVII: But it's just so dull! That name is so dull it is finishing me off! I can feel my last leaves falling and Zion actually calling to me!... oh my! His voice is totally handsome.

Gesseritch: You're just jealous because you can't come up with a more awesome name.

Pupae XVII: THAT IS NOT AN AWESOME NAME!

Gesseritch: Indeed! :D

Pupae XVII: May woodpeckers hollow you out and turn you into a birdhouse!

Mellyn: I think we should carry on before this escalate beyond all hope of control.

Leim: May I speak up?

Sein: We never stopped you before.

Leim: I mean, may I speak up without being mocked?

Sein: No.

Gesseritch: If you don't say anything mocking-worthy, we will not laugh at you. In short, given it's you, that means no.

Leim: But I want to talk about my character...

Kiinae: This should be a barrel of laughs! Let's hear him out!

Sein: This is gonna be hilarious! Go for it!

Leim: I'm not sure how to take this. Well, all of your opinions will change once you hear of the amazing awesomeness that is my character! He is, get this, a dark spirit! Instead of Light, he shine with the power of the darkness! This allow him to be as invisible and to control the shadows of the world as if they were his own body! Unbelievably fast and agile and skilled, it is like he was everywhere at once! And he's like, dark, brooding, quiet, and the best there is at sneaking and killing things! Bartholomeow Archibald Realmacho Ferdinando! Of the hidden tribe of shadows and dark spirits!

Gesseritch: Oh, look, a discount ninja. And totally not a mary sue either. And he's a "dark spirit". Of course. Does he have a voice identical to you and happen to look like your pre-tree self but all black?

Leim: Errrr...

Gesseritch: He does, doesn't he? Pffft.

Eclair: What's a ninja?

Sein: What Gesseritch claimed he was channeling whenever he shown up inexplicably at places. Frankly, I just think it was pure stupidity. And likely Light warping shenanigans.

Gesseritch: Female of little faith. I really do know ninja techniques!

Sein: Nobody ever heard of such a thing. You made that up. Like all of the other nonsense you bring up all the time. Why can't you speak in a sane manner like everyone else? Also, screw you. I am an ascended priestess.

Seelin: Dark spirit? Leim's character sounds so sexy. I would love to make a tree out of him! ;3

Sein: You do realize that "I'll make a tree out of you" is the common spirit way of saying "I'll murder you", right?

Gesseritch: Also, I'm not sure if I'd have an interest in somebody called Barf.

Leim: Whaaaa-? No! He's called Bartholomeow Archibald Realmacho Ferdinando!

Gesseritch: Too long. His name is Barf. B, A, R, F. Barf.

Sein: Sounds logical.

Kiinae: That's a rather funny name for a character meant to be awesome tough!

Fellis: I'm not sure I'd date a male called Barf.

Leim: Stop it, you hags! And he'd never be desperate enough to pay attention to females like you! Not when there's plenty of attractive males in the world to seek out.

Fellis: I am sensing a bias.

Sefirot: Please don't start. Zion gifted spiritkind with the ability to be born in Immaculate birth from the divinity of blooming Spirit Trees specifically so our kind would not have to wallow in body fluids like inferior beings. Gender is an obsolete thing.

Eclair: I am uncomfortable with the subject. Let's go back to characters.

Garsia: I will go next. No useless Light shining. No mumbling to Zion for help. My character is a pure hunter, a warrior. Brak the Brave.

Fellis: Charming. Well, time for me to reveal my character!

Sefirot: I am already wilting just knowing you are about to reveal it.

Fellis: I will be playing as the half-moki spirit adventurer Fluff. Social and pleasant, she took a liking to adventure and soon enough, felt called to travel the world!

Sefirot: You aren't even trying. Half-moki? Seriously?

Fellis: Crossbreeding is possible if enough Light is injected and the Light bond with the affected person!

Sefirot: I did not need to be reminded that some tribes would dirty their bloodlines in such a humiliating manner! Spirits are the Light given flesh, the Light our divine right and inheritance. To dirty our life sequences in such a way is a sin toward Zion's legacy and the Light!

Gesseritch: Murder-tree is a bigot. News at eleven!

Eclair: I don't understand...

Sein: Light is a part of spiritkind, it is an inherent part of us. It contain our memories, our thoughts, our very being. And we connected it to the land, to the very world. But the Light continues to form connections as it touch things, even to this day. While only spirits generate Light naturally and can normally use it, it is possible for it to be bound to living things that are not spirits. If a being is immersed into blank, empty Light long and intensely enough without being burnt, the Light will imprint upon that being.

Seir: **WE ALL KNOW THIS. GUARDIANS ARE CREATED THIS WAY.**

Eclair: Guardians?

Pupae XVII: Just as Decay can empower beings, so can Light. Few tribes bother doing it for the sake of creating guardians though. Take up too much time and effort.

Seir: **I DISAGREE.**

Gesseritch: So do I! Empowering non-spirits turn them into kaijus! Kaijus are awesome!

Eclair: What's a kaiju?

Sein: Just ignore him. It's Gesseritch being Gesseritch as usual...

Garsia: So you say that legends of the Light spreading to other species is correct?

Sein: Absolutely. Once a being is infused with the Light and being made to be one with it, it might be possible for such a being to breach the species barrier and procreate with spirits. Duniwel has a rich history of this, thanks to the Light being so strong in there.

Fellis: It's why I looked so much like a moki in life. My grand-father was a moki, actually!

Sefirot: Absurd! The Light belong to spirits! Only a pure Light can become a vessel for Zion's brillance!

Fellis: And my Light was more than pure enough.

Sefirot: You are one-eight to one-fourth moki! Your blood is dirtied by inferior beings' dirty fluids! And you were born from fluid exchange!

Fellis: And yet here I am, a Spirit Tree.

Sefirot: Heresy! Blasphemy! This is scandalous!

Fellis: Cry some more, murder-tree. I'll trust Zion's opinion over your own.

Eclair: Errr... are you forced to play a half-moki?

Sein: Please stop agreeing with the murder-tree. My opinion of you drops every time you do that.

Sefirot: I enjoy rain and sunshine. Do agreeing with me over this make your opinion of other Spirit Trees drop, Sein of Nibel?

Seir: **OH GOOD. ANOTHER POINTLESS WASTE OF TIME. MELLYN, PRONOUNCE YOUR JUDGEMENT SO WE MAY PROCEED.**

Mellyn: I'm accepting Fellis's character.

Sefirot: What?

Mellyn: My opinion is final! Let's move on.

Sein: Right. Well, only Kiinae's left!

Kiinae: Seems I'm the last one left. Alright, here I go! My character is a warrior in exile by the name of Sylveri. Unfairly judged because of her strange appearance, she seeks a place to call home that she may then defend. Until then, she take upon causes that she consider noble while making plenty of crysts on the side. Lands are always in need of capable warriors after all!

Sefirot: I am sensing some similarities with a certain unworthy tree's background story. Let me guess, she is a goat-like freak with no antennas and her quest will end with her declaring a worthless frozen wasteland that nobody wants her home after being rightfully rejected from everywhere else due to being an antennas-lacking freak?

Kiinae: You're an idiot.

Sefirot: I wonder if she'll end up accidentally eating a Spirit Tree sprout when hungry due to her poor sense of Light detection.

Kiinae: May a gust of wind uproot you and send you rolling down a hill.

Mellyn: Accepted! We now have all of our characters!

Seir: **GOOD. NOW MAY WE START BEFORE ALL OF US WITHER AWAY? BUT THEN, KNOWING OUR LUCK, WE WILL LIKELY HAVE ALL OF OUR CHARACTER BECOME TREES WITHIN THE FIRST FEW TURNS ANYWAY. WHY DO I EVEN BOTHER.**

Gesseritch: Pffft. We shall totally kick tail and chew bubblegum!

Eclair: What's bubblegum?

Sein: Let's just start already?

Mellyn: Alright, fine fine. All of you are within Petalburg Town, a small town by the forest of Alwayswinter, in a realm known as Forests of Mystery. The local ruler, Baron, is looking for a competent group of adventures to take on a risky mission. Of course, he get a lot of candidates so you've all been chose to go on a lesser mission as a test. A great beast has made its lair lately in a cavern near the town. Destroying that beast should prove your credentials to Baron. Do you adventurous lads have what it takes to drive back the looming darkness? Of course you do! Let's start this!

Gesseritch: Are you using fudge dice? Ooooh! I hope you're using fudge dice!

Eclair: What's dice?

Sein: A small toy, usually made from a rock, shaped like a cube or some other equivalent form and then with each side marked with a different number. It's used to let destiny dictate the outcome of something.

Mellyn: Dice? Aren't they used for games of chance?

Sein: There is no such thing as chance.

Gesseritch: Ladies ladies ladies... let's not start a philosophical debate right now! Not among ourselves anyway!

Leim: Yeah! Let's play! Now, I attack the darkness! Yeah! Take that, darkness!

Mellyn: Huh, what?

Leim: The darkness! I attack the darkness! My character materialize some giant badass Spirit Edge and then smash it! How much damage do I do?

Mellyn: What? Errr...

Kiinae: Look, for you to do damage to something, you need to attack something.

Leim: Yeah! I'm attacking the darkness!

Sein: You can't do that...

Leim: Why can't I do that? Miss I wear a hat outright stated it! The goal is to drive back the darkness! So I'm doing that! Take that!

Sein: It was a figure of speech! You can't drive back vague concepts like that just by attacking the air randomly!

Leim: Sure you can! We're all driving back Decay by shining our Light randomly!

Sein: You're... not supposed to shine it randomly.

Gesseritch: Ooooh! So that is why Winel tend to spontaneously and randomly get big forest fires and snowstorms all year long! Make sense now!

Mellyn: You can't just throw an attack like this! I didn't even finish describing the starting location!

Leim: Don't need to know to kick tail! DARKNESS, TASTE SPIRIT EDGE! HIIIIYAH!

Sein: This. Is. Stupid!

Leim: How much damage do I do?

Mellyn: You need a target to attack! I didn't even specify if there were monsters around! Beside, this is the middle of a town! Why would there be monsters here?

Leim: I'm not attacking monsters, I'm attacking the darkness! Let's go! Roll for damage!

Sein: It's going to be one of those sessions, isn't it?

Fellis: Unfortunately, yes...

Gesseritch: What do you mean? This session is awesome! This is amazing!

Sein: THIS IS STUPID!

Gesseritch: Exactly! And it's glorious!

Sefirot: Is this game going to be derailed by just one tainted tree? Seriously?

Mellyn: Fine FINE! You attack the darkness. Now, let me get my mate to roll the die.

Sefirot: Why are you involving a mortal in this? This is a divine matter!

Mellyn: I don't have arms! I'm a tree! I can't roll the die myself!

Seir: **WE ARE NOT PAST THE FIRST TURN. THIS GAME IS ALREADY A TRAINWRECK.**

Gesseritch: So! How successful is our resident fail guy at fighting the scary dark in his meadow?

Mellyn: Hmmm...

Sein: What is it this time?

Mellyn: My mate rolled all of the dice we have. All of them now indicate an one.

Kiinae: ... Mellyn? How many dice do you have?

Mellyn: Thirty?

Leim: Oh boy! All of them indicate an one? That must mean I am number one time thirty! This is gonna be awesome!

Mellyn: Alright. You attack the darkness. According to my chart, this is a critical failure. Epic-level critical failure, more exactly.

Leim: Whaaaaaat? This is unfair!

Gesseritch: So what's his fate?

Mellyn: Well, he drop his Spirit Edge on his foot or hoof, varying on what kind of spirit he is. So his very first move in this roleplay is to hop around holding his foot, howling in pain.

Leim: Not cool...

Gesseritch: Just like his player and his kids then! Fitting.

Leim: So not cool...

Mellyn: Anyway, you're all at the edge of town. A guide was going to give you directions to the cave but due to BARF's actions, well, everyone is kind of staring. It's very embarrassing. At the very least, it certainly embarrass the guide and they decided to just point to the north, say the cavern is that way, and then leave your group. Your reputation does not suffer from this, since the town has no reason to think highly or lowly of you yet. However, if anything, even if you all fail in your quest, BARF's little action means that your group has, if nothing else, brightened up a bit the town's otherwise dull day.

Gesseritch: Minor victory from an epic failure. Not bad!

Leim: Not bad?! My character came off as being a fool! He would never be funny like that! He's cool! He's amazing!

Seir: **CAN WE GET TO KILLING MONSTERS ALREADY?**

Sein: I check my inventory, and that of my comrades. Want to make sure we have all we need to go on an adventure first.

Seir: **WHY WOULD OUR CHARACTERS LACK BASIC ADVENTURING SUPPLIES AND YET BE READY TO LEAVE? THIS WOULD BE ILLOGICAL. LET US PROCEED.**

Leim: Yeah! We're ready! Unleash us upon the darkness!

Mellyn: Fine fine! Let me make a roll for random encounters...

Sefirot: There is no such thing as chance.

Sein: Indeed but that is just a figure of speech. You know this, from all our games.

Sefirot: Yes yet the term keep being used!

Sein: And you keep complaining about it every single time!

Eclair: Do all of your games always go like this?

Gesseritch: Yes! Isn't it just hilarious?

Eclair: Errr... I'm not sure if that's the word I'd use but okay?

Mellyn: There are moments during which I seriously question the maturity level of all Spirit Trees in the world.

Sefirot: And then they wonder why Decay manage to constantly encroach upon our world so much.

Sein: Ha ha. Not funny.

Kiinae: Can we not start? Mellyn, please, tell us what monster will murder our party horribly.

Gesseritch: Pffft ye female of little faith.

Mellyn: Alright, my mate has rolled the dice. The chart says... oh dear.

Gesseritch: Let me guess, destiny has decided to be mean and Shriek has dropped from the sky in front of the party.

Sein: Our game is not based on the real world. Shriek is not part of our game's mythology.

Mellyn: So hummm... a huge dragon has just shown up!

Eclair: What's a dragon?

Mellyn: The beast is many times the size of even the largest spirit. It is a great and horrible beast covered in scales, with a horned head, massive fangs, and sharp claws. On its back are huge, leathery wings like a bat. It has a long, serpentine tail that ends with sharp spines.

Eclair: Wings like a bat? What's a bat?

Sein: Idiot. You know, the furry things that fly during the night like birds and hang upside down in caves or from trees?

Eclair: Whaaaat? An animal that hang upside-down? And flies? Is this some kind of prank?

Sein: What? No! Bats are common animals in many parts of the world! How can you not-... oh. Of course.

Eclair: What's that supposed to mean? I could feel you deadpan at me from that Light's feel!

Sein: Given how little you traveled during your life, I sometimes like to think that you were born with your hooves buried in a houseplant pot.

Mellyn: Can we please not make jokes about houseplants?

Gesseritch: Yeah! It's bigotry toward our favorite hat-wearing tree!

Fellis: Gesseritch. You know that Mellyn is still sensitive about being stuck in her house...

Sefirot: Why she don't get her tribe to tear down those walls already, I will never know.

Leim: Who cares? Let's kick some tail! I kill the dragon! So how much experience do I get?

Garsia: Aren't we supposed to fight monsters in order to defeat them?

Seelin: I thought we needed to fight them, too. Oh? What are you saying Great Ash Tree? As the Light of a Spirit Tree, I can handily defeat such a beast? Sure!

Mellyn: No! It doesn't work that way!

Leim: I am a Spirit Tree! And I'm awesome! So of course my character would be as badass as I am! Yeah! Flawless victory!

Gesseritch: I vote for the rocks.

Sefirot: At this point, so do I.

Sein: They're starting to look tempting.

Garsia: What? No! Surely we can salvage this?

Eclair: Rocks...?

Leim: No! Not the rocks!

Mellyn: The rocks sure are tempting indeed.

Kiinae: We waited such a long time for this game! You're being too harsh.

Leim: Yay! I wear the dragon's skull as a helmet! How much extra defense do I get?

Seir: **I HAVE NOT WAITED ALL THIS TIME FOR THIS GAME TO BE RUINED BY A SINGLE IDIOT TREE. I VOTE FOR THE ROCKS BUT LIMITED TO ONLY LEIM.**

Mellyn: That would be unfair to him!

Leim: I bet my character gained a level! I get a technique to drive back the darkness with my glorious, luminous aura! Because I glow awesomely even in fictional pretend games!

Fellis: Give him the rocks.

Kiinae: Can we just ignore him? I tip-toe my way around the dragon, suspecting that trying to take on such a huge, scaly, musculated monstrosity might be slightly bad for my low level character's health. Not wanting to be a tree, I instead look around for a hiding place.

Leim: Coward! You're hiding from a dead dragon!

Kiinae: It's not dead! We didn't even fight the thing! Beside, taking cover as to attack from a better angle is not cowardly, it's fighting intelligently!

Leim: Coward coward coward! Chicken! Kiinae is so chicken she's covered in feathers and got chickens roosting on every branch! And she produce chicken children every time she blooms!

Kiinae: Change of plans. Give him the rocks.

Eclair: I'm so lost. The rocks?

Gesseritch: What will happen to all of us by the time this game ends! :D

Sein: And you called me a "female of little faith"?

Mellyn: Oh well. Rocks it is. Leim?

Leim: I use my new Light technique to defeat the darkness! We win! Yes!

Mellyn: Rocks fall. Barf die.

Leim: ... WHAT?!? That's so unfair!

Gesseritch: Before you bother the game master, you should always remember that the game master can bother you back.

Leim: I wasn't bothering Mellyn! I'm just playing this game! I'm having fun! Leave me alone!

Seir: **YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE ENJOYING THIS NONSENSE.**

Sefirot: I look through Barf's belongings for anything useful.

Seelin: Why would you try looking for items in somebody's vomit? How gross!

Sefirot: Barf the character, idiot!

Sein: You know, that is really a good question! I never knew you had this kind of interest, Sefirot!

Sefirot: WHAT?! You are lying, you worthless weed!

Fellis: My my! What a twisted little kink our murder-tree got! First blood, now a different kind of body fluid? Do you got an interest in other forms of body fluid by any chance?

Sefirot: Stop slandering me you heretics!

Gesseritch: Too late! You will never live it down, murder-tree!

Sefirot: I hope you all get the rocks!

Leim: It's so unfair! How did I die anyway?

Sein: The rocks. You got the rocks.

Leim: How?!

Sefirot: Giant rocks fell on your head.

Leim: What? No! Rocks don't just fall randomly from the sky!

Garsia: They fell because the gods of the earth and sky both agreed that you are obnoxious and then summoned giant boulders that fell from the sky and then straight on your character's head.

Leim: No! I won't accept that!

Mellyn: Everyone, just react to the dragon's appearance.

Sefirot: No.

Mellyn: Huh? What now?

Sefirot: This is all Leim's fault. His awful destiny doomed us all and caused us to run into this excessively difficult encounter. Now that he's removed from the game, please change this encounter to reflect his dark future no longer corrupting our destinies.

Gesseritch: Pffft. You're just totally not creative enough to find a way to kill the big bad lizard thing.

Sefirot: No. I am simply realistic toward our low level characters' abilities.

Sein: I don't know about this, Gesseritch. I think murder-tree is right about this.

Fellis: Then we simply follow Kiinae's example and sneak past it!

Seelin: A dragon? How bad can it be? I say we try fighting it.

Gesseritch: Oh boy! This will totally end in a glorious trainwreck! Bob join Sylveri in hiding behind a rock! As he does, he does three things! One, he tremble in terror and wonder why such a powerful monster shown up now of all times! Two, he internally facepalm at the suicidal overconfidence of his allies! Three, he start winking at Sylveri because he enjoy being near hot ladies!

Kiinae: Where have I ever specified whether Sylveri was hot or not?

Gesseritch: Oh, so she's ugly?

Kiinae: What? No! Why would she be?

Gesseritch: Then he winks at the hot lady!

Kiinae: You do realize your character is a food gatherer, right?

Gesseritch: Yeep! To be someday badass but right just some schmuck stuck in a bigger adventure than he can likely handle! But hey, gotta make good of bad situations, right?

Sefirot: If your characters turn this into a roleplay about combining Lights, I swear you'll all regret this dearly.

Gesseritch: You're just jealous because you still can't get laid even when pretending to be a spirit again. Beside, Bob and Sylveri just met! No way he'd do that!

Kiinae: So why did he wink at my character?

Gesseritch: A hot lady demand respect!

Sein: ... that is supposed to be respect?

Kiinae: Fine. Sylveri blink a few times and whisper to him, telling him that this is an awful time to think of this. Beside, the two of them just met.

Gesseritch: Bob take it in stride! "Just showing my appreciation of brave, pretty ladies, ma'am", he whisper. Then he fistbump her.

Kiinae: My character ask Bob why he's so confident about this.

Gesseritch: "Because I got the perfect plan!" My character whisper. They hide behind this rock and once the dragon starts eating the idiots, we sneak past it!

Sein: This plan is STUPID.

Fellis: Frankly, it's also the most likely to work plan.

Sein: Which make it even worse! Do my character got a Spirit Hammer or a hammer of sorts?

Mellyn: Sorry but you picked a Spirit Edge for your starting weapon.

Sein: Do anybody got a hammer? Somebody hit Gesseritch on the head for me!

Gesseritch: Me or my character? :D

Sein: Either!

Gesseritch; Are you aware of the term "tsundere", Sein?

Sein: Gesseritch! I swear! I hope a great owl pull you out of the ground like a weed!

Garsia: Your lack of valor is appalling. Any monster can be felled with sufficient numbers and we're more than enough to defeat it! I shape the Light into an amazing, gigantic axe and then cleave its head in two!

Leim: Why do you act as if it was alive? I already defeated it! I'm wearing its skull!

Sefirot: No, you got the rocks. I stand back and wait for a better moment to strike.

Seelin: Amora use the power of love to overcome all!

Mellyn: Huh? What kind of attack is that?

Seelin: I convert it to the Light through the power of love and friendship! Didn't you read the character sheet my lovelies helped me write?

Mellyn: Errrr... huummm...

Gesseritch: Do we get the rocks now? :3

Sein: I hope you get the rocks, idiot.

Mellyn: That is... a monster. It can't be converted with love and friendship. It's like a Decay monster, you know. You use weapons and Light techniques to kill it. Then you get experience. You don't... err... use love on it. How would you do that anyway?

Seelin: Love conquer all! All of us and our trees are proof of that!

Seir: **YOUR CHARACTER IS A MONK. STOP WASTING EVERYONE'S TIME AND JUST HIT IT WITH YOUR FISTS.**

Seelin: Killjoy. Fine! Amora shall triumph over the dragon using the amazing power of love! And fists thrown at sufficient velocity at the faces of bad guys!

Pupae XVII: I might as well. Knight run in as well, materialize her weapon, and then unleash it in a powerful overhead swing.

Garsia: Joining us, Seir?

Seir: **I WAIT FOR A BETTER TIME TO ACT.**

Fellis: Fluff goes behind the rock too. She whisper at Bob and Sylveri. "Got enough space for one more?"

Gesseritch: Bob smile and whisper back to her! "Always, sweet stuff."

Kiinae: Sylveri roll her eyes.

Sein: So does Serenity.

Garsia: So what is your own attack, Sein of Nibel?

Sein: Pffft. I'm brave, not suicidal. Serenity join the others behind the rock.

Gesseritch: With the way all of our characters are crouching and lying down all together by that rock, I wonder if it counts as a foursome? ;3

Sein: I hope beetles hollow you out and turn you into a glorified roach motel.

Eclair: I don't understand why you all act as if that monster was scary. Sure it's big but a lizard with wings? Doesn't sound that tough. Bolt try to help his friends! Let's strike it all together! Bolt gather his Light and blast it with a radiant, pure flash of Light!

Leim: Why are you attacking a dead monster anyway?

Mellyn: Alright, mate rolled the dice. Let's see... oh my. That is... hummm... wow.

Gesseritch: This is gonna be amazing!

Mellyn: You actually get critical hits! All of you!

Garsia: Destiny smile upon the daring. Now, the monster is properly slain.

Pupae XVII: Not so fast. How much damage do we do?

Mellyn: Let's see. Hummm... my mate is using a abacus.

Eclair: What's an abacus?

Gesseritch: The sign that your roleplay got too many stats in it! :3

Mellyn: Alright, he's done. Total, you all cause two points of damage to the dragon.

Garsia: That must have been Eclair's character. How much damage did my actually strong character inflict?

Mellyn: Actually, that is all of your attacks combined.

Gesseritch: Hahaha! I knew it! Hahaha!

Mellyn: Then it roar loudly, unleashing an attack of its own. It seems it didn't appreciate being given a bump on the head. It proceed to release scalding flames from its mouth.

Garsia: This is nothing for a true warrior. A true warrior can endure acid shots from Decay toads. Surely this character can survive a little fire no problem!

Seelin: More abacus?

Mellyn: Just... wait... while my mate is doing the calculations! This is complicated stuff!

Sefirot: Why not just make them yourself?

Mellyn: There's a lot of numbers! And I don't have hands! I can't use the abacus! Anyway, my mate is done. The chart says that... oh. I think I'm not even going to say how much damage you all took.

Garsia: Ha! I knew it! I attack it again.

Mellyn: You can't.

Garsia: What? Why can't my character attack again?

Mellyn: The flames melt the flesh off all your characters' bones so fast that they've already begun sprouting into trees before their bones finish falling on the ground. Sorry...

Garsia: Whaaaat?! No! That is nonsense!

Leim: Hahaha! You guys are trees! You're losers!

Gesseritch: You are a tree too, Leim!

Leim: No! I'm not! My character is wearing the dragon's skull and he's totally gaining a level! He's awesome!

Sein: Naaah, you're totally a tree! As tree as a tree can be! With cute little roots, large branches, and leaves glowing in a neat shade of white-ish green!

Leim: I'm not a tree!

Garsia: I can't have been turned into a tree either! My character is a great warrior! He can't fall this easily!

Eclair: Aren't all of us trees? Like, for real?

Gesseritch: We're talking about the game, Eclair.

Eclair: Anyway, what happened to my character?

Gesseritch: Ye'r a tree, Harry!

Eclair: My name is Eclair...

Sein: Nobody understand your jokes, Gesseritch!

Gesseritch: Somebody does! Believe me. ;)

Seelin: So does that mean my character is a tree too, now?

Mellyn: Sorry but Amora, Knight, Bolt, and Brak were all turned into trees by the dragon.

Eclair: This sound a bit unfair to me. Who would have thought a giant lizard could be so dangerous?

Kiinae: Somebody didn't pay attention when I spoke of Polaris's history, it seems.

Seir: **THIS IS ALL IRRELEVANT. THE DRAGON HAS WON THE BATTLE. NOW THE ENCOUNTER IS FINISHED, RIGHT?**

Mellyn: Actually, your character and Sefirot are still standing nearby. The dragon turn its attention toward you two and roar.

Seir: **MY CHARACTER SHALL AVENGE THE FALLEN. SHE TAKE UPON THE LIGHT OF THE FALLEN CHARACTERS AND USE IT TO EMPOWER HERSELF ENOUGH SO SHE MAY FACE THE ENEMY!**

Mellyn: Hummm... are you sure you want to try this?

Seir: **ABSORBING LIGHT FROM ANCESTRAL TREES IS SOMETHING ANY SPIRIT CAN DO. SURELY MY FICTIONAL AVATAR IS CAPABLE OF SUCH A SIMPLE FEAT AS WELL.**

Mellyn: Sein?

Sein: I tiptoe my way out of there while the dragon is murdering the less intelligent characters.

Gesseritch: I follow Serenity!

Kiinae: So does my character.

Fellis: And mine.

Mellyn: Sefirot?

Sefirot: I pull back to the village but stay within sight of the village.

Gesseritch: Abacus time!

Seir: **THIS IS RIDICULOUS. ARE THOSE CALCULATIONS THIS COMPLICATED?**

Gesseritch: Here's a bit of Light containing the rules and the equations for calculating outcomes for scenarios!

Seir: **... WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE? YOU JUST SENT ME ENOUGH LIGHT THAT I COULD USE IT TO KEEP AN ENTIRE FOREST LIT WITH LIGHT FOR A YEAR! IS THIS... OH. OH. OOOH.**

Gesseritch: Amazing, isn't it?

Seir: **WHO DESIGNED THIS GAME? YOU'D HAVE TO BE ZION TO USE ANY OF THESE WITHOUT AN ABACUS.**

Gesseritch: Why do you think the abacus was invented? :D

Seir: **THE ABACUS WAS INVENTED IN ORDER TO MAKE THIS GAME POSSIBLE TO PLAY? THIS IS MERELY YET ANOTHER OF YOUR ABSURD THEORIES, GESSERITCH OF RIHAN.**

Gesseritch: No no, the abacus wasn't invented in response this game! Rather, they invented this game to justify the abacus's existence!

Seir: **... I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.**

Gesseritch: It's genius! You make this thing called the abacus which can be used to solve really complicated mathematical equations, then you invent this really complicated game that involve equations too complex for anybody not named Zion to solver without the thing you just invented, then finally you sell the abacus blueprints all over the world for a big pile of crysts! You get rich from the game, then crazy rich from the abacus!

Seir: **WHA-WHAT? THIS IS THEFT! THIS IS ROBBERY! WHO INVENTED BOTH OF THOSE THINGS?!**

Gesseritch: A person who now has gained a lot of crysts and lost a lot of friends!

Seir: **... WHY ARE WE PLAYING THIS GAME.**

Gesseritch: Because it's the only game we can all agree on playing.

Seir: **IT IS TRUE THAT THE NONSENSE EARLIER WAS QUITE EGREGIOUS. STILL, I QUESTION THE USE OF THIS PARTICULAR SET OF RULES.**

Gesseritch: Admit it, you all find it tons of fun anyway.

Eclair: Fun? My character got turned into a tree in his first encounter!

Gesseritch: And it was hilarious! Come on, you are enjoying this, admit it! All of you are finding this funny!

Leim: I'm not having fun.

Garsia: I hoped I'd last longer this time...

Pupae XVII: You're all just sore because destiny made most of us turn into trees early this time.

Mellyn: Alright! Finished! Had to look up to see if there were rules about Light absorbing and how long it would take you to absorb Light to do what you told me your character is doing...

Seir: **GOOD. NOW THAT MY ACTION IS COMPLETED, WHAT ABILITIES DO I GET?**

Mellyn: Errr...

Seir: **I AM FINISHING THIS ACTION ON MY TURN, CORRECT?**

Mellyn: Well...

Seir: **I CHECKED THE LOGS OF THIS GROUP'S PREVIOUS GAMES. THIS ACTION WAS ALWAYS COMPLETED IN ONE TURN BEFORE. PLEASE KEEP THE RULES CONSISTENT.**

Mellyn: In past games, all Light absorbed was during exploration of places, not in the middle of a battle!

Seir: **FINE. I HAVE NO REAL STAKES IN THIS ANYWAY. HOW HORRIBLY DO MY CHARACTER DIE?**

Mellyn: Bit in half mid-Light absorbing. Bloodkill is now a tree.

Gesseritch: Bloodkill got killed so hard her blood cover all of the area! One could say that it's a true blood kill!

Sein: That was painful even by your standards.

Sein: I continue to tiptoe past the dragon.

Sefirot: I throw a rock at the dragon.

Sein ... what.

Mellyn: Wait what? Are you sure?

Sefirot: I throw a rock at the dragon.

Eclair: I don't know but given the build-up, that is what Sefirot's character does? Despite being this odd character, it's all it can do?

Mellyn: Fine. Don't need to roll for that. The dragon get annoyed and run toward you.

Sefirot: Excellent, I run deeper into the village. To the alley to the left.

Kiinae: What are you doing?

Mellyn: Now the dragon is in the village. Everyone panicking. Great going. The guards are noticing you lured the dragon inside. They give you an evil glare but only for a moment before coming to arms.

Sefirot: "Dragon! Help!" my character yell at the guards. I run to the guardhouse.

Mellyn: ... Sein?

Sein: I'm just too fascinated by this. Continue.

Fellis: Seriously, what is murder-tree doing? Do we rescue him?

Kiinae: Naaaah.

Sein: But that dragon is gonna wreck the village!

Kiinae: And got a good plan to kill it with our low level characters?

Sein: ... point.

Mellyn: The guards at the entrance fight the dragon but they won't last long. Everyone in the village is panicking. You enter the guardhouse. Dozens of guards stare at you since you just barged in.

Sefirot: I steal the keys off the closest guard.

Mellyn: ... seriously.

Sefirot: Yes. But as I do so, my character do something else.

Mellyn: What do they do?

Sefirot: Yell the following. "I WILL STEAL ALL THE CRYSTS, BURN DOWN EVERY HOME, AND KILL YOU ALL! FEAR ME!"

Mellyn: Since when are you Gesseritch, murder-tree?

Gesseritch: I take offense! Not even me would be this stupid!

Mellyn: You got dozens of armed guards jumping to subdue you and likely kill you. Great good. What do you now?

Sefirot: Run back out, toward the dragon!

Sein: How is that helping?

Mellyn: Okay, now what?

Sefirot: I run toward the guards fighting the dragon! I yell out. "MUTINY AMONG THE GUARDS! HELP ME!" I then throw the keys at one of them.

Sein: What... what...

Gesseritch: Well, I'll be.

Kiinae: That can't possibly work...

Mellyn: Hummm... my mate just rolled the dice. According to the chart... hummm... the guards and the dragon are now in one giant melee.

Sefirot: Good.

Mellyn: But it's bad! The fighting is causing fire and arrows to rain everywhere! The village is burning! Villagers are falling left and right! All of them are dying!

Sefirot: Good.

Sein: Good how? We're supposed to do a quest for the place!

Mellyn: So... hummm... the dragon and guards have finished fighting. The dragon has killed all the guards and torched down most of the village. It's now staring at you. It clearly intend to finish the job.

Sefirot: I entrust my character's life to destiny. I strike the dragon on the forehead with all of my strength.

Garsia: Pfft. He'll turn into a tree like us.

Mellyn: ... critical hit. You... your character has felled the dragon.

Sefirot: Good.

Mellyn: You have gained a level. But the village is destroyed and is now a graveyard filled with sprouting Ancestral Trees.

Sefirot: Oh, that give me more than just a level. All of those guards and villagers? That's worth ten levels. I calculated it while everyone was busy doing nonsense earlier.

Mellyn: What? The dragon did all that destruction!

Sefirot: I absorb the Light from all the Ancestral Trees.

Eclair: That is... kinda evil?

Pupae XVII: Isn't murder-tree's character supposed to be something called a paladin or something?

Mellyn: By absorbing all that Light, you have committed an action foul enough to be stripped of your title and levels. You are now a level one tainted warrior.

Sefirot: Is there a statue of the Light in this village?

Mellyn: Huh?

Sefirot: Is there a statue of the Light in this village?

Mellyn: What? How is that relevant?

Sefirot: Is there a statue there?

Mellyn: It was a relatively small village, if you excluded the guards so no. They didn't have a statue. What do this change?

Sefirot: They weren't truly faithful to the Light. They were heathens and were smited. Beside, Morning Star didn't kill them. The dragon did.

Mellyn: Your character acted in a cowardly manner. He ran away, luring the dragon inside!

Sefirot: He didn't run. He made a strategic retreat and only it became obvious the situation was hopeless. Beside, he didn't truly run away and the moment the opportunity rose, he finished off the beast. He is a hero.

Sein: ... seriously.

Mellyn: I... just...

Sefirot: I followed the rules. You didn't say anything about four characters hiding behind a small rock. Or about the dragon not noticing the brightly glowing characters diving behind a small rock.

Mellyn: Fine fine!

Kiinae: Oh. Good. We'll be carried for the whole game by murder-tree. Joooooooy.

Sein: This is stupid!

Sefirot: I use my newfound levels to catch up to Sein's and others' characters. "I know you can all feel my newfound power. Destiny has spoken. This world's destiny favor me and you all shall now do as I say. No more shall we do mere quests. We shall instead, spread the will of the Light. All shall bow before the true faith. May justice be done."

Sein: Can I have my character tell murder-tree to screw off?

Sefirot: I know the rules. All of those gained levels have increased my charisma stat! They believe me, thanks to my stat! They must do as I say!

Mellyn: Err... I...

Kiinae: Please don't tell us...

Mellyn: He's right. His charisma stat is so high that... well...

Sein: Rocks?

Mellyn: I mean...

Gesseritch: Well, that was fun! But it's rocks time. I mean, are we seriously going to let this become Sefirot's personal power fantasy?

Eclair: I felt my entire body shudder from what you just said. I can't move, being a tree, yet I shuddered anyway.

Mellyn: Rocks fall, everyone die.

Sefirot: Ah! Not this time! I have a technique that will allow my character to survive, this time!

Mellyn: ROCKS FALL. EVERYONE DIE.

Eclair: So... what does that mean?

Gesseritch: Game's over!

Eclair: What? This is how it ends? Rocks fall? From where anyway?

Sein: From nowhere. This means the game has gone horribly wrong and can't continue.

Eclair: And does that happen often?

Sein: All the time.

Eclair: I... I don't know what to say?

Gesseritch: Now wasn't that fun?

Leim: No!

Seelin: That was mean...

Garsia: No!

Gesseritch: Killjoys!

Fellis: Murder-tree kinda killed the mood...

Kiinae: That he did...

Pupae XVII: I wish we had one game not crash and burn for once...

Sein: Pfft. They always turn out like this.

Gesseritch: We should totally do this again, though! So who wants to join the next one!

Sein: I'm in.

Fellis: Let's do this again!

Seelin: Oh oh oh yes yes! But next time, the Great Ash Tree make my character!

Pupae XVII: I could use some more excitement, sure.

Sefirot: Next time I won't be foiled! You shall all be awed by my mastery of the game!

Garsia: I never shy away from a challenge. Count me in!

Kiinae: Sure, I'll have time.

Seir: **NO. FULFILL MY REQUEST FOR CALLED. DO IT NOW.**

Gesseritch: That game only lasted a couple of turns! It doesn't count!

Seir: **WHY YOU... FINE. I WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE NEXT SESSION OF YOUR DUMB GAME.**

Eclair: I don't understand. You all said this was a disaster! And then you want to do this again?

Gesseritch: Pfft. You'll be back.

Eclair: No. This is stupid! Nothing went right! The entire thing was confusing! What kind of story or world was that, anyway? And then you all just went on about being trees when all of us are already trees! I can take only so much nonsense!

Gesseritch: You will be baaaack!

Eclair: No! I was promised something fun! Not nonsense! not something that makes my head hurt despite the fact that I no longer have one! Why is every Spirit Tree totally crazy?

Gesseritch: Oh come off it, sprout boy. You will be baaaaack!

Eclair: No. Just no.

>> Eclair has left the chat room.

\---

Eclair would have begun twitching incontrollably if he could. What was all that nonsense?! He was promised fun! That wasn't fun! That was stupid! It was sanity-meltingingly dumb!

There's no way he'll join the next session. Just no way.

...

Seriously. Just no way.

No way at all.

Totally... no way.

...

...

...

... maybe next time he can give his character a hammer so he may hit Gesseritch's character on the head?


End file.
